LeBron James has become the king without a home

CLEVELAND — The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy.

LeBron James has gotten many receptions from Cleveland Cavaliers fans over his 24 seasons in the league. None have been as half-hearted and uncarring as Friday’s.

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There’s always been a certain buzz in the arena when James plays in Cleveland. That has been the case since he was in high school.

That juice, however, was lacking in his first trip back home in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform. There were empty seats before tip-off. The ovation for him when he was announced in the starting lineups was positive, but hardly more than respectful. No tribute video was played, as has been the case for the last eight seasons. There were smatterings of boos and cheers throughout the night, but nothing more than what any other high-profile player gets at Rocket Arena. And a good number of fans were content heading out while James was still on the court.

In short, LeBron was just another guy participating in one of 41 home games against the Cavs.

“At this point it’s become normal,” Donovan Mitchell said of James’s return. “My first year, you see it, and now it’s just, we’re playing the Sixers, to be honest. You obviously understand that the stands are going to be packed and obviously cheer for him, and rightfully so. He’s a champion, he’s from here, and he deserves all that and more for what he’s done for the city. At this point it’s just regular. … For us it’s normal.”

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The normality of this reception stands in stark contrast to what we saw last year. Then, the crowd showered him with praise all game, ultimately moving him to tears. At the time, it seemed unfathomable that he would receive anything but love in the building he called home for 11 years. This summer, however, changed that.

James chose to leave the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency at the end of June. He then spent the first three weeks in July dragging his feet, leading those within the city and organization to believe he was returning to Cleveland. But then James threw a curveball and decided to go to a city he had no previous connection with and build a super team with the…

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Publish date : 2026-11-07 12:00:00

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