CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James is going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James tells Sports Illustrated, that he's decided to go home. It's a move that would have seemed unfathomable four years ago, after the venomous fallout that followed his decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat.

James told SI: "My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn't realize that four years ago. I do now."

He spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland. In four years with the Heat, he went to the NBA Finals four times, winning two championships. And now heads back to Cleveland to see if he can finally deliver on his promise of winning a crown for that title-starved city.

James is from Akron, Ohio, not far from Cleveland.

Anticipation had been high Friday as the prized free agent pondered whether to leave the Miami Heat, where he won two league titles, to return to Cleveland, where he started his pro career with the Cavaliers.

Fans can now forget the "The Decision" James made on television in 2010, when he announced he was leaving Cleveland for Miami.

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Clevelanders see a James homecoming as another harbinger that the oft-maligned and hard-working city is finally getting what it deserves.

 

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