LeBron James Recalls The First Time He Faced The Cavaliers As A Heat Member: "I Remember That Day Like It Was Yesterday. It Was Rough. I Got No Sleep The Night Before."

via Getty Images

View the original article to see embedded media.

LeBron James is considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time and one of the most respected athletes in the world.

Nonetheless, The King has had to earn his stripes the hard way. He's been called out and criticized since day one by multiple fanbases, including those who rooted for him when he first entered the league.

James left the Cleveland Cavaliers on somewhat bad terms. The fans felt betrayed and burned his jerseys and it took them a while before they could finally move on from that.

That, combined with all the memories he lived with that franchise, made James feel pretty anxious ahead of his first matchup with the Cavs when he joined the Miami Heat:

“I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was rough. I got no sleep the night before. I already knew the adversity, how crazy it was going to be. It was very challenging” LeBron said on ESPN's Monday Night Football coverage."They’re gonna root for who they root for. So it gets a little ugly, so you gotta go in there quiet and calm. And I was able to do it the night back in December 2010.”

Eventually, James went on to win a couple of rings at South Beach before heading back home to lead the Cavaliers to one of the most epic championship runs of all time.

LeBron went full circle and fulfilled his promise of delivering a title for his hometown before taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers.

This time, however, Cavs fans had nothing to complain about and no reason whatsoever to hate him again.