Jason Kelce opens up on pain of LeBron James leaving his hometown Cavs

Legendary NFL center Jason Kelce may be known best for the 13 seasons he spent with the Philadelphia Eagles, but as a native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, he knows exactly what it’s like to be a Cleveland sports fan.

Recently, he opened up on the pain of seeing Cleveland Cavaliers legend LeBron James leave the franchise, specifically in 2010 when James joined the Miami Heat.

Kelce added that “much has been forgiven” since James brought a championship to Cleveland in 2016 during his second stint with the Cavs, even though the NBA icon later left again.

“In Cleveland, I watched all my favorite athletes leave,” Kelce said. “Jim Thome ended up coming and playing for the [Philadelphia] Phillies. … He was my favorite baseball player of all time, and then all of a sudden, he’s a Philadelphia Phillie.

“LeBron left us. And I love LeBron. I’m not taking that — I still love ya, but that hurt, right? In Cleveland, that’s kinda — you watch all of your guys leave, so yeah, it’s been really awesome to stay in one spot.”

He continued on LeBron.

“He did leave twice, but the first one was the one that hurt the most,” Kelce said. “After he won the championship, it was like, alright, go do whatever you want now, LeBron. Yeah, he came on ‘New Heights,’ and he also got us our first championship in like forever, so yeah, much has been forgiven.”

James’ decision to leave the Cavs in 2010 broke the hearts of many and marked the beginning of a new chapter for the generational talent. Upon joining the Heat, he formed a Big 3 with fellow stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and the trio helped Miami win two championships across four seasons together.

After that, James returned home for a second stint with Cleveland, which ended up producing one of the most meaningful championships in NBA history. James and the Cavs were able to put a blemish on the dynasty of the Golden State Warriors by completing an epic comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals to win Cleveland its first NBA title.

Nowadays, James is with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he most recently won a championship in 2020 to give him his fourth ring in the NBA. His time in the league isn’t going to last much longer, but there has been plenty of speculation about the idea of him returning to play for the Cavs one last time before retiring. That’s far from a guarantee, but it will be a storyline worth monitoring if he ends up leaving L.A. at any point.

James’ Lakers will face the Cavs twice in the upcoming regular season, including one matchup in Cleveland that will give the NBA’s all-time leading scorer another opportunity to play a game in his home state.