Everyone acknowledges that The Decision back in the summer of 2010 was an amazing PR fiasco. Still, former NBA commissioner and newly-minted Hall of Famer David Stern thinks we were all a little too hard on LeBron James back then. Per NBA.com:
I told LeBron, I thought that regardless of how poorly executed The Decision was, I thought the world was being horribly unfair to him. He was entitled to make that decision and he was entitled to make the decision he made. If it makes him happy, then I’m happy. I think it’s great.
The additional dividend being, apparently, he has been much appreciated by the fans of the world for his decision to return to Cleveland. And I think that’s wonderful.
And I think that it demonstrates how embedded the NBA is into the psyche of not just America, but maybe even the world. That during the world Cup, the second-most talked about issue was where would LeBron go? There was a baseball season going on, but everyone wanted to talk about LeBron. I thought that was a very positive development. And it sort of demonstrated something we’ve said over the years, that the drama that’s on and off the court provides fodder for our fans to think about, talk about, and get involved in some discussions about.
