In 2016, fellow MVP Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world by leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. His decision also garnered media outcry, though for slightly different reasons — he left to a team that only narrowly beat his Thunder in the 7-game Western Conference Championship.
Durant later said he looked at James' decision to leave Cleveland before he chose to leave OKC. This offseason, free agent players moved teams freely, often opting to team up with friends, like Russell Westbrook's move to James Harden's Houston Rockets — or Durant again moving on to join Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets.
"He paved the way," Durant told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck of James.
From Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan, top NBA players that stuck with the teams that drafted them were deemed as "loyal" for their decision — yet NBA executives have never stopped cutting ties with players they no longer have use for.
Now, players can take advantage of the higher salary caps and endorsement deals that come with switching teams. And since NBA success revolves around winning a championship, many players will leave for the teams that guarentee wins.
"The money has made it easier (to leave)," former general manager Billy King told B/R. "Now a guy's going to maybe make $140 million to leave, as opposed to $180 million to stay. It's a lot of money (to sacrifice), but $140 million is big money, too. I think guys don't even look at the money as much anymore when they're making that decision."
And LeBron, of course, has chosen to finish the final act of this career in Hollywood.