WEBVTT - Episode 1: The Beginning 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:07.960 I was in Orlando before Miami, and I came straight 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.000 to Miami. And I've been here for like twenty nine 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:14.840 thirty years, and Miami raised me. And Miami is what 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:19.680 I flag, that I wave and that I breathe, and 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:22.560 I believe everything is Miami. 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:23.360 You know what I'm saying. 0:00:24.400 --> 0:00:27.440 You know, Miami, We just different. You know what I'm saying, 0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:33.280 Like we special, We confident, and you know what I mean, 0:00:33.320 --> 0:00:33.920 this would love. 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:34.760 We don't see. 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:37.440 Nobody me And he asked in like, we Miami. 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:39.120 You know what I'm saying. 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.960 That In case you didn't recognize, the voice was famed DJ, 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:52.920 record producer, record executive, rapper and Miami Heat superfan DJ Khaled. 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.080 Why start a podcast about. 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:57.760 One of the more intriguing teams in NBA history with 0:00:57.840 --> 0:00:59.800 a musical artist raving about the city. 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:02.200 Well, first of all, why not? 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.040 There'll be plenty more of that unmistakable voice throughout by 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:09.480 the way. Second, because this Heat team's story wasn't just 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.400 about high profile teammates getting together to reach an extremely 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.520 lofty goal. It had the secondary effect of elevating a 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.240 franchise and an entire city. 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:21.000 Along the way. 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.040 There might be some of you listening right now who 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:27.720 only learned of Kalid because of that Heat fandom. There 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.280 are definitely some of you listening who only know who 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:34.840 I am largely because of that Miami Heat team. I'm 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:39.200 your host, Israel Gutierrez, and I, like Khaled, was raised 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:42.399 by Miami. I've lived here since I was two years old, 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:45.399 growing up a fan of all the local teams, which 0:01:45.440 --> 0:01:48.440 started with only the Dolphins but then eventually expanded to 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:52.360 the Heat, Panthers, and Marlins. I became a journalist after 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.160 graduating from the University of Florida and fortunately never had 0:01:56.200 --> 0:01:59.040 to leave South Florida. When I began my professional career 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:02.160 in two thousand, the same teams I grew up watching 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:04.800 and cheering for I suddenly had to cover as an 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.960 objective journalist. By twenty ten, I'd covered the Heat as 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:11.400 a beat writer for seven years and had been a 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:15.400 columnist at the Miami Herald for three. That's ten years 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.480 as a professional to tag onto another decade of just 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:24.000 being a Miami fan, and nothing, absolutely nothing could have 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:28.160 prepared me or any Miami native, frankly, for what was 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:33.680 on the way. It's the start of twenty ten, and 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:36.040 Miami was about to host its tenth Super Bowl and 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:40.000 second in four years. Miami as a city was comfortable 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:42.840 being at the center of the sports landscape, but mostly 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:46.000 as a host to outside teams and their fans, Fans 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.919 looking to get kissed by the sun and possibly experience 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:51.920 a twenty four hour nightclub in between cheering on their teams. 0:02:52.400 --> 0:02:53.920 Rare was the occasion. 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:56.520 Where Miami's own sports would garner the type of attention 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.360 that caught the nation's eye for any length of time, 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.720 and in twenty ten, Miami was in one of those 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:05.519 sleepy sports cycles where there wasn't much to look at. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.320 The Florida Panthers were in the midst of their ninth 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.920 straight season missing the playoffs. The Florida Marlins were only 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.600 seven years removed from a second World Series in team history, 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.600 but were about to start a seventh straight season without 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.040 reaching the postseason again. And the Miami Dolphins were in 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:23.640 the second year of a seven year stretch with no playoffs. 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:35.440 Then there were the Miami Heat. The Heat had won 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:38.240 the championship in two thousand and six in the second 0:03:38.240 --> 0:03:41.960 season after Shaquille O'Neill blessed the town with championship legitimacy, 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.160 and in the third season of now superstar Dwayne Wade, 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.400 who the Heat drafted in two thousand and three, But 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:52.880 that flash of sports supremacy faded quickly as Shak's relationship 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:56.080 with the organization deteriorated, and he was traded to Phoenix 0:03:56.080 --> 0:03:58.640 in two thousand and eight after only three plus seasons 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:02.200 with the Heat. In the few years that followed their championship, 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:04.640 Wade had won a scoring title in two thousand and 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:08.080 nine and was third in MVP voting. He was matching 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.000 or surpassing the best players in the league with his performances, 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:13.560 but he also happened to play the same shooting guard 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.680 position as Kobe Bryant, the Lakers legend who had won 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.680 four titles that would win his fifth in twenty ten. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.960 Even as Wade was leading the eight Olympic team in scoring, 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:26.280 it was Kobe who received most of the adoration and 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.919 all of the starting nods for the gold medal winning 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:32.720 Redeem team. What the Miami Heat organization did over the 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:35.719 next four years to maximize their success with Wade, who 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:38.480 was still in his prime, was simply builled one of 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:46.120 the most dynamic, controversial, explosive, exciting, successful, and unforgettable teams 0:04:46.160 --> 0:04:50.280 in sports history. Teaming with Wade would be Lebron James, 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.520 the game's best player, and Chris Bosh, another highly skilled 0:04:54.520 --> 0:04:56.400 All Star with championship aspirations. 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:58.920 It was a joining of forces so. 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:02.359 Surprising it was difficult to believe it even as it 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.640 was happening. It was a team so immediately rich with 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:09.719 high end talent and even more pressurized expectations, it would 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:13.360 almost be impossible to sustain for any extended length of time. 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.520 This wasn't just about an organization cashing in while it 0:05:17.560 --> 0:05:20.760 could for some additional gold trophies. It was now about 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:24.559 a responsibility to the game of basketball to make sure 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:27.719 this worked. To make sure Lebron, a player who many 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.359 already predicted could rival the greatest of all time, would 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:35.440 finally break through and start his run toward basketball immortality 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:40.120 that only can truly begin with an NBA championship, to 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.640 make sure Wade and Bosh cement their Hall of Fame 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:46.520 careers with multiple rings. It was a team that, if 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:51.240 it worked, would revive a city and more importantly, empower 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.920 and encourage other players to take more control of their 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:59.480 careers and change the NBA forever. And little did anyone 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.359 really know at the time, but Miami would have a 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.760 limited amount of time to complete all of that. 0:06:05.760 --> 0:06:06.560 Four years of. 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:10.000 Heat and yes, I said the name of the podcast, 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.520 four years of a team that ran so hot it 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:19.800 probably couldn't last much longer than it actually did. Dan 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:22.320 Lebttard has been writing and talking about sports in his 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.560 hometown of Miami for portions. 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:25.000 Of four decades. 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.240 He's attended the University of Miami. He's written for the 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:32.320 Miami Herald, written and worked on television and radio for ESPN, 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.480 and currently is running his own media company, meatal Ark Media, 0:06:35.760 --> 0:06:38.600 highlighted by its signature podcast, The Dan Lebotard Show with 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.760 Stu Goatts. There might not be a better person to 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.240 paint the picture of the Miami sports landscape than Lebtard. 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.599 The Heat had experienced the most consistent success of the 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.520 pro sports teams in town, but not enough to stand 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.560 out amongst more established winners. 0:06:55.160 --> 0:07:00.200 Miami had established itself as a town that had at 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:05.920 Riley and before Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, and 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:10.080 so there had been some winning, but basketball was not 0:07:10.320 --> 0:07:15.240 dominating this town. Even in failure, which the Dolphins had 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.800 plenty of, the Dolphins were still the thing in the 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:23.600 town and the star power of the team. The furthest 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.160 it went was Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway. Those were 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:29.600 the successful teams, the ones that would always die at 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:34.400 Michael Jordan's doorstep. It wasn't a champion, It was largely 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:38.800 a regional team, not a national one, and locally, this 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:44.240 was absolutely not a basketball town. Liked basketball, but basketball 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.560 probably was behind baseball and football. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.240 Back then, Wade had known the ultimate success, both as 0:07:51.240 --> 0:07:54.880 an individual and with his team, but in his seventh 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.560 NBA season, he'd been chasing that championship feeling again for 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:02.360 a few years now. A seven game first round series 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.560 lost to the Atlanta Hawks and nine was nice, but 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.480 nowhere near the thrill he'd get from facing those Detroit 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:12.040 Pistons teams deep into the playoffs just a few years prior. 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:13.880 Shot Cock is off. 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:15.080 We'll dribble it out. 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.360 For the first time in franchise history. 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.680 The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals. 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:26.880 Wade knew what basketball at its highest level felt like. 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:30.480 He wanted that again, and there was one game in 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.480 particular in twenty ten, in the middle of a season 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.200 that was far short of special from Miami that reminded 0:08:37.240 --> 0:08:40.200 him of what that felt like and maybe even gave 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:43.280 us a glimpse of what kind of basketball wizardry was 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:46.040 headed toward the three to zero five. It was a 0:08:46.080 --> 0:08:49.040 game between the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers and what was 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.480 then still called American Airlines Arena, and it featured a 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:55.640 matchup of redeemed team pals Wade and Lebron James. 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:58.839 I still talk about that game today when people asked me, like, 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:01.800 what was your favorite kind of game in the NBA? 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.440 That's all Mario Vernard Chalmers. You might just know him 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.440 as Mario Chalmers, a collegiate champion at Kansas who was 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.240 in his second year in the league in twenty ten 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.240 and started about a quarter of the Heats games at 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:12.760 point guard. 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.600 And that was like the one time I felt myself 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.680 as a player being in the moment and I'll just 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:20.640 want to watch, like I don't I don't want to 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:23.320 do anything but watch Lebron go this way, d Wade 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.800 go that way. And that's what I was just like, Wow, 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:27.360 He's like, this is what it takes to be a 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.760 superstar league. This is why these guys are stars, And 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:32.199 like I was really starstruck in that moment in the. 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:35.800 Game That game was on January twenty fifth, twenty ten. 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:37.440 Wade in the Heat were in the middle of a 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:39.720 forty seven wins season that would earn them the fifth 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:42.320 seed in the playoffs, while Lebron was in the midst 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.720 of his second straight MVP season on a Cabs team 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:49.000 that would lead the league with sixty one wins. There 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.959 wasn't quite love in the air that night, but there 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.920 wasn't nearly as much venom for an opponent as usual. 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.240 In fact, it would be Lebron's last visit to Miami 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:01.200 before his free agency that offseason, so the fans were 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.040 a little extra friendly to help court the King a 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.520 few months early, bringing signs that would hope to get 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.880 his attention. A few of the signs looked professionally executed, 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.360 with the most memorable one being a fake Facebook page 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:19.520 with Lebron's status as in the relationship with the Miami Heat. 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.000 A little more than halfway through the second quarter, Wade 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.319 and James put on a back and forth duel. 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.079 That builds legends. 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.200 This was the jaw dropping stretch of game Chalmers was 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:34.440 talking about. James and Wade already had a few moments 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:37.439 in this showcase of stars but with five eleven left 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:41.280 in the first half, Lebron unknowingly started the memorable exchange 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:43.680 by dunking on Wade and. 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.360 Another steal this hoop by Paris show here comes James again. 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:50.079 The freak trainers left the state to exports for the 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:51.840 term of foul on Twainne Wade. 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:53.280 Oh my Wade was float. 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:54.560 He was going up for a light up. 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:58.240 Lebron dunked the ball, Wade jumped up with two hands 0:10:58.240 --> 0:10:59.080 trying to block it. 0:11:00.040 --> 0:11:00.840 He gets the foul. 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:02.760 What a move by Lebron. 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:06.079 James, giving the Cavaliers their first lead of the game, 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.600 a nineteen to four run, and the explosion by James. 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:11.000 Wow. 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:13.760 Wade never took well to being on the wrong end 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:17.040 of a highlight play, so the very next play he 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:18.720 drew foul and hit two free throws. 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:20.880 After that, a pair of. 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:25.080 Lebron free throws, and then two of the most dynamic 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.000 athletes in the game decided to put on a shooting 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:32.440 display that gave this regular season game an all star field. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:37.760 Oh baby, three point offul way that he got bowled. 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.800 Oh James answers back with a free ball, and with 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.000 these two guys, it's anything you can do. I can 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:49.000 do better. It's on a game, coach, and it started early. 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.920 Wade with twenty three, James with sixteen. Here he goes again. 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.559 Oh man, the crowd trying to egg on Dwayne Wade 0:11:57.559 --> 0:11:58.680 just should come back again. 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:04.080 Now Here it comes, Wade colliding with Vanish out one 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:08.560 of the great individual shows you will ever see. It's 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:13.440 an instant classic shot clock at six Wade against Parker. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:19.400 There's a three, and there's your third baby. Oh man, 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:25.000 who Dwayne Wade's best scoring half of the year, thirty? 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:29.680 Here he goes three on the way and what else 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:33.240 would you expect? What else would you expect from Lebron 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.640 James their way from the backcourt. 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:39.040 Oh man, don't take your eye off this game. 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.720 Wade and James sheer smile and how could you not 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:44.480 enjoy it? 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:45.280 Right along with. 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:48.480 Him, Wade literally skipped off the floor on his way 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.040 to the halftime locker room after sharing a glance and 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.800 a smile with Lebron. That high level of basketball he'd 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.120 been so familiar with was back on that Monday night 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.080 in Miami, and his friend Lebron providing all the counterpunches 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:03.839 made him feel alive again. 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:06.360 You know, their competition is great at then they you know, 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:08.559 we understand it's a team game, you know, and I 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:10.760 think second hand I proved there. But you know, it's 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.600 moments within the game where you know, you take on 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:17.240 the competition of it. You know, it's it's it's a 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:18.880 little bit of anything you can do, I can do better, 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:21.920 you know, count of competition for a little while, and 0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:24.160 it's fun for the fans. And you know, long as 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.400 we're not doing anything outside of what our team wants 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.200 to do, it's good for our team. So, you know, 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.280 probably one of the best second quarters that I've had, 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.760 and you know, just back and forth was good. 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.080 Four point one seconds left of the fourth quarter, Miami 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:42.640 trailing ninety two to ninety one. He will have Clinton 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:45.480 Richardson in bound. He's got Jermaine o'nial all stood Wade 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:50.600 at Haslam and here we go. Wade catches it guarded 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:59.600 by James for the win, Miami's fifth one point game 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:02.400 and their second one point loss. 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:06.840 Wade in the home crowd left slightly disappointed, but feeling 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:09.640 like they'd made their point to one Lebron James. 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.200 Fast forward to the end of that season. The Heat 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:15.679 had just. 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:17.680 Been knocked out of the playoffs as the number five 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.880 seed by the fourth seeded Boston Celtics. It was the 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.280 second consecutive first round exit from Miami, and this one 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.960 didn't even include the seven game drama that the previous 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:31.240 year series against Atlanta managed. In five games, Wade had 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:34.560 just averaged thirty three point two points on fifty six 0:14:34.600 --> 0:14:38.920 percent shooting, including forty percent from three, with six point 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.760 eight assists five point six rebounds, but could manage only 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.000 one win in the series against the Celtics. On the 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:49.720 postgame podium in a makeshift press conference in the bowels 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:53.720 of Boston's TD Garden, Wade made a declaration so confident 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:57.240 it had some wondering if that was more than just 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.040 a superstar believing in himself. 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:02.920 H Like I said before the playoffs started, this this 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:06.040 playoff run and drive, I had no indication on my decision. 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:10.480 I'm going for Well, this will be my last first 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.880 round exit for a while, I'll tell you that. So 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.360 I'm looking forward to, you know, continue to build and 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:22.680 being with some great players next year. 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.240 Tim Reynolds has been covering the Miami Heat since the 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.120 two thousand and two oh three season, the last before 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.640 Wade was drafted. By this point, he'd grown close enough 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.760 to Wade to know there was extra meaning behind that statement. 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.760 When Dames staffer at the podium in Boston and said that, 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:41.600 I'm like, hmm, okay, there's something to it. 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.920 Two rounds later, there was another disappointed superstar sending signals. 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:48.760 The Celtics had just knocked Lebron James out of the 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:52.240 playoffs in six games. James was playing through a bulky 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:56.200 elbow and ended the deciding Game six with twenty seven points, 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:00.680 nineteen rebounds, ten assists, and nine turnos, but. 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:05.320 Boston Selfix were the huge upset. They advanced to the conference. 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:08.240 Finals, and Lebron james season is over? 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:10.640 Is his career in Cleveland over? 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:15.760 As he walked off the floor and into the tunnel 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.560 leading to the Cavs locker room, James took off his 0:16:18.640 --> 0:16:22.480 Cavalier's jersey, and once he entered the locker room, casually 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:23.560 flipped it to an attendant. 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.680 Cleveland fans wondering if that's the last time he'll take 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:28.840 off a Cavalier jersey? 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.800 What did it mean? Everyone wanted to know. 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.440 In less than two months time, Lebron would be an 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:38.680 unrestricted free agent for the first time. Following seven years 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:42.320 in Cleveland, his adopted city after growing up in nearby Akron, Ohio, 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.960 James would have to make the most difficult decision of 0:16:46.000 --> 0:16:48.200 his professional career, the answer to the. 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.560 Question everybody wants to know, Lebron, What's your decision? 0:17:02.920 --> 0:17:04.960 Jim Gray is a media sports legend. 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:09.280 He's interviewed icons of sports like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.480 Tom Brady, Tiger Woods, Kobe. 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:13.680 Bryant, and Mike Tyson. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:18.000 Once famously, with a broken back spinal, he wrote a 0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:21.600 book called Talking to Goats, The Moments You Remember and 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.679 the Stories You Never Heard, and among the subjects was Lebron. 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:29.080 James Gray had known Lebron from his days covering him 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.080 in high school to his early NBA days. Gray would 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:35.280 also fly to Lebron's hometown of Akron, Ohio to cover 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:39.280 the annual PGA Firestone Golf Tournament, where he would also 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:42.679 visit with Maverick Carter, Lebron's longtime friend and business manager 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:46.199 since two thousand and six, and other associates of Lebron, 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.440 including the other founders of their agency and sports marketing firm, 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:54.640 lrimr Rich Paul and Randy Mims. Of all the interviews 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:57.400 Gray has completed in his career. He would have one 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:01.359 nationally televised event with Lebron that would become one of 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:05.440 his most controversial. James chose to air his free agency 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:09.200 decision live on ESPN the evening of July eighth, twenty ten, 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:12.840 in the form of a one hour special. The Decision, 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:16.320 as the show was called, peaked at more than thirteen 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:20.240 million viewers. As Lebron would announce his choice. About halfway 0:18:20.240 --> 0:18:23.119 into the special, I talked with Jim about how that 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:25.879 option came about and whether or not he thought that 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:29.240 interview would set in motion such a wave of hatred 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:33.840 toward the best basketball player in the game. It began 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:36.800 with a conversation at an NBA Finals game in Los 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:40.080 Angeles in twenty ten between Gray and Carter. 0:18:40.440 --> 0:18:44.720 I just saw Maverick Carter that evening of a playoff 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:48.159 game sitting with Ari Emmanuel, who was the head of 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:52.800 William Morris Endeavor, And they were sitting in Ari's front 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:57.080 row seats and the Lakers were playing, and I walked 0:18:57.119 --> 0:18:59.120 down and saw him at halftime and shook his hand, 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:01.439 and I said, Hey, Mav, would it be possible to 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:05.880 do the first interview with Lebron after he chooses his team, 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:09.600 and he said, I would consider that, And then it 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:11.840 just out of nowhere, I kind of said, and you know, 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:14.520 perhaps we should just do an hour special and have 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:17.919 him announce it on the air. What's the difference between 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.320 that in a press conference? You know, let him make 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:24.719 his own announcement. And Ari said, that's a brilliant idea, 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.600 and Mavericks said, right then, he said, you know, we 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:29.679 could probably raise a bunch of money for charity. 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:33.480 For full context, the idea of Lebron announcing his decision 0:19:33.520 --> 0:19:36.160 in that public a manner was mentioned in a mail 0:19:36.200 --> 0:19:40.199 bag column by noted Boston sports fan Bill Simmons. A 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:44.000 reader named Drew Wagner was inspired by high school recruits 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.879 announcing their college choices live on television and recommended a 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:52.480 live show on ABC called Lebron's Choice. But it wouldn't 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:56.159 be Simmons who executed the plan. Gray brought it up 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:59.560 to Carter at that Finals game, and Carter convinced Lebron 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:02.439 to do it, while the Manual pitched the idea to 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:04.760 then ESPN president John Skipper. 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:09.040 We had an opportunity to possibly put it on NBC 0:20:09.320 --> 0:20:11.840 because I had worked at NBC on the NBA for 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:15.640 a long time, and Maverick ultimately felt that it should 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:20.760 be with one of the NBA carriers ESPN, ABC or Turner, 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:25.840 and that was fine, and so they eventually worked something 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:31.520 out with ESPN and with John Skipper to take over 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:36.199 the time, and we raised six and a half million 0:20:36.280 --> 0:20:41.320 dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.960 it's still, i believe, to this day, the largest contribution 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:46.880 that has ever been made to that organization and has 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:50.200 helped the lives of countless, hundreds of thousands of kids. 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:54.720 Skipper was very young ho because he knew the amount 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.520 of attention that this was going to garner and he 0:20:57.680 --> 0:21:01.560 was one hundred percent behind that because it represented the 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:04.199 largest audience they'd ever had for a television show, not 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:07.960 for a live event, for a television show, which which 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:12.160 I believe still holds up to this day, for a show, 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:14.480 you know, not to be confused with a Monday night 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:18.560 football game or perhaps an NBA you know, playoff game 0:21:18.640 --> 0:21:21.400 or something of that ill, but for a one off 0:21:21.440 --> 0:21:23.800 show for that hour. 0:21:24.280 --> 0:21:28.160 You know, he knew just how much people would watch. 0:21:28.000 --> 0:21:30.200 It, and he knew, you know, that it would be 0:21:30.520 --> 0:21:32.520 it would be must see TV. 0:21:33.440 --> 0:21:36.080 ESPN assigned Gray a producer he was familiar with, and 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:38.680 they went over Gray's interview, questions and plans for the show. 0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:42.520 The next day, Gray met with Lebron and his associates 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:45.520 for some promotional photos and then drove from a nearby 0:21:45.600 --> 0:21:48.439 home to the Boys and Girls Club in Gretich, Connecticut. 0:21:49.040 --> 0:21:52.119 With them was Lebron's then girlfriend and now wife, Savannah Brinson. 0:21:52.920 --> 0:21:56.240 Gray said the ride was largely quiet, in part because 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:59.240 he himself asked not to know what team Lebron was 0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:00.280 choosing ahead of time. 0:22:00.680 --> 0:22:03.959 I did not want to know what his decision was. 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:08.639 I intentionally told Maverick, told Lebron and told Leon Rose, 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:11.479 do not tell me because I didn't want to know. 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:14.000 I wanted it to be real, at least from my end. 0:22:14.480 --> 0:22:16.760 And I also didn't want to be the one who 0:22:16.840 --> 0:22:20.600 accidentally blurts this out, because anything can happen. You know, 0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:23.359 somebody's talking to your So I just didn't want to know. 0:22:23.520 --> 0:22:25.040 I wanted to know when the audience knew. 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:27.399 Quick pause, we already know. 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:30.359 There's no way to truly have predicted how negative the 0:22:30.440 --> 0:22:34.760