LeBron James is a great teammate.
If you play with him, you’re guaranteed to play for a winner. He draws defenders and willingly passes, giving you plenty of open looks. When he’s on the bench, he’s constantly cheering for you and your other teammates.
And he’ll apparently buy you stuff.
The latest gift came just before the NBA Finals.
Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com:But before they went their separates ways that night of the meeting, James had another surprise. He gave them all brand new Apple watches.
It was another way of displaying his appreciation for his guys.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some great partners and whatever I get, I like to share with my teammates,” James told NEOMG. “It’s just my way of showing them that I care. That’s it. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time.”
No one was more excited about their gift than Smith. He has a player option for next year and it sounds as if James’ giving spirit could play a part in his decision-making process.
“I don’t know how he does it, but everyday it’s something different,” Smith said with a laugh. “Watches, sneakers, Beats [Headphones], hoodies, book-bags. Man, I can’t wait to come back next year. I want to see what we’re getting next year.”
Brendan Haywood also issued a comment on James’ kindness by offering a unique compliment.
“Look, LeBron is probably the greatest player in the world who gives out gifts like it’s candy,” he said. “We look forward to it every single time.”
If that works on J.R. Smith, maybe it will work on Kevin Love, too. I’m already banking on LeBron (indirectly) gifting Tristan Thompson a max contract this summer.
LeBron hasn’t yet ended Cleveland’s title drought, but he might have already accomplished an even more difficult task – one he failed to achieve in his first stint with the Cavaliers:
Making Cleveland a place players not from there want to play.
It just took a bunch of gifts. I wonder how many Apple watches would bridge the gap between Dwyane Wade’s player-option salary and what the Cavaliers could give him…
