- 1 day ago
Hochman and Solana look back at one of the most monumental nights in South Florida sports history: the 16th anniversary of LeBron James announcing he was "taking his talents to South Beach" during "The Decision." Hoch recounts his hilarious experience watching the drama unfold from an Atlantic City Rainforest Cafe, while Solana shares a wild story of his own. The guys break down the pure theater of that 2010 special, Jim Gray's legendary filibustering, and why a moment like this will never happen again.
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00:00Today is the 16th anniversary of LeBron's decision.
00:04We talked about this yesterday.
00:05Crowder's going to join us, by the way.
00:06He's in New Jersey taping for The Pivot,
00:09but he will be with us during this afternoon program at some point.
00:14So we anxiously await him.
00:16I'm in the studio with Solana and Jimmy.
00:19So we mentioned yesterday, today is the 16th anniversary of the decision.
00:23I think I say this every year, but it's probably worth repeating
00:26because I think everybody thinks about it.
00:28And I was shocked yesterday when you said it was the 16th anniversary.
00:31It just doesn't seem like 16 years to me.
00:34But when I think back now, so my son was six.
00:402010.
00:42Crazy.
00:44Yeah, we were on.
00:45So I've told the story.
00:46I was on the Jersey Shore.
00:48I was on the boardwalk.
00:49In fact, I could tell this to Gelb when he joins us.
00:51But we were in Atlantic City.
00:55Normally we're on like, you know, Ocean City or whatever.
00:57We're on Atlantic City boardwalk, which back in 2010 wasn't as bad as it is in 2026.
01:042026, you'd be taking your life in your hands if you're standing on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
01:10But we were going to play miniature golf.
01:13And that decision show on ESPN was scheduled.
01:17And so I said to Lori and David, we were with her parents and our nieces.
01:24I was like, you guys walk ahead.
01:27I'm going to dip into Rainforest Cafe here.
01:31The Rainforest Cafe right on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
01:34So I'm going to go over to the bar where they have those awesome bar stools.
01:39You know, it's like you're sitting on a zebra.
01:42And I'm going to watch.
01:43I thought it was going to be two minutes.
01:45Right.
01:46And so I go to the bar.
01:47What was the schedule?
01:48What was the show?
01:498 p.m. maybe?
01:50Yeah, like at 9 o'clock or 8.30.
01:53So I go there and they don't have the sound on.
01:57They're not as interested in the decision as, you know, those of us who were Heat fans or NBA fans.
02:04But they still had it on, you know, on all the TVs at the bar there.
02:09And I'm watching.
02:10And I'm like, you know, what is going on here?
02:12Because I can't hear anything.
02:13There's no sound.
02:14And I'm like, what?
02:15I don't even think Twitter existed back then, did it?
02:18It was in its infancy, right?
02:20In 2010?
02:21It definitely existed.
02:23It existed?
02:23Because I created my account in 2009.
02:25Okay.
02:25So it was like, I remember like the first time on the Levitard show.
02:30What were you saying, Jimmy?
02:32Twitter started in 06.
02:34Oh, wow.
02:3506.
02:35I remember the first time that we talked about Twitter on the air on the Levitard show.
02:42Chris Mortensen, the late Chris Mortensen, tweeted, I'm mowing my lawn.
02:47And I remember Dan and Stu Gatzin talking about it like, is this necessary?
02:52Like, what are we going to, like, who knew what Twitter was going to become?
02:55But it was like, like, what are we doing here?
02:57Why would we need to know that Chris Mortensen is mowing his lawn?
03:04It was like a status update.
03:05It was pretty much like that.
03:07It wasn't as vile and disgusting.
03:11It's not the hell.
03:12It wasn't the hellscape.
03:13It literally was like, hey, I'm having lunch.
03:16I'm mowing the lawn.
03:18That's what, like, a Facebook update was.
03:20It was like an instantaneous Facebook status update.
03:24I'd be checking in.
03:25Mark Hockman is, which is what Facebook was.
03:28It would be like brushing his teeth.
03:30You know, like something silly.
03:31I used to check in to Outback Steakhouse.
03:34Right, right.
03:35On a random Thursday night on Facebook just because.
03:38So, I go into Rainforest Cafe and finally they, you know, make the decision and you realize, like, you know,
03:47LeBron James headed to the Miami Heat.
03:49There's probably a little crawl at the bottom.
03:51And I remember, like, I couldn't believe it.
03:53I was program director at 790 The Ticket.
03:55So, I got on the phone with our imaging guy and, you know, immediately had all these promos recorded for
04:03the next day on 790 The Ticket.
04:06You know, we welcome LeBron James.
04:08We didn't have the rights to the Heat, I don't think, at that point.
04:11You did not.
04:11They were on 610 WIOD.
04:14You end up, 790 ends up getting the rights, like, a month into that season.
04:19A couple, like, the first couple preseason games were played on 610 WIOD.
04:23I thought it was on 940.
04:26Was it 940?
04:27Yeah, I thought it was 610.
04:29I feel like it was 610.
04:31Well, regardless.
04:33But we did all the imaging and, like, and we were ready to roll.
04:37And then I remember watching the party from the arena on ESPN News.
04:43They aired it live.
04:44I watched it on the Jersey Shore.
04:47Like, I cannot believe it was 16 years ago.
04:50Crazy.
04:51Cannot believe it.
04:54I remember, that's one of those, everybody remembers what they were doing.
04:59Where they watched it.
05:00I was at an LA Fitness in Kendall with my brother and his roommate at the time.
05:05Hawk, this dude is the biggest Chicago Bulls fan that you would ever meet in your entire life.
05:12And there was some thought that he might go to Chicago.
05:14He is adamant.
05:16He's going to Chicago.
05:17He's going to team up with Derrick Rose, Joe Kim Noah, and they're going to get Carlos Boozer.
05:23And this team, he was adamant.
05:25And we're at LA Fitness.
05:26Everybody in LA Fitness in Kendall, this is a massive gym.
05:29Everybody at 830 when that thing started, crowded around this one elliptical machine that had the TV that was working
05:38and that had ESPN.
05:39So you have dozens of people around one elliptical, and about 15 minutes in, we're like, what's going on here?
05:46What's going on here?
05:47So we lived across the street.
05:49So the three of us decide, well, I didn't live there.
05:51My brother and his roommate live there.
05:53Let's go back home and watch this on our TV.
05:55Like, what are we doing here?
05:56We drive home, sit down in front of the TV.
05:59Still hasn't made the decision.
06:00Still hasn't made the decision yet.
06:02Jim Gray is just, I don't know, was he filibustering?
06:05Well, I think that they were told by ESPN, like, hey, this has to be a 30-minute special or
06:12a one-hour special, and you can't get to it right off the jump.
06:15And because I think, weren't they giving the ad sales to the Boys and Girls Club?
06:21Like, that's part of the million or two million that was raised.
06:23Right.
06:23Whatever it is, 30-minute or one-hour TV special, we have spots to fill.
06:27Fill the spots.
06:28Because he made his announcement at 9.28 p.m. on the dot.
06:34On the dot at 9.28 p.m.
06:37Jim Gray, professional.
06:38And this is how my brother's roommate reacted.
06:41By the way, I have the Facebook memories.
06:43I mean, you can imagine.
06:4415-year-old me.
06:45Oh, you?
06:45I mean.
06:45The things I was writing on Facebook were just ridiculous.
06:48But he cut up his LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 23 jersey.
06:53I'll show everybody.
06:54He cut it right in half with a kitchen knife.
06:57I'll never forget it.
06:57He is crashing out while my brother and I.
07:00Because he thought he was coming to Chicago.
07:01He thought he was going to Chicago.
07:02And he liked LeBron.
07:03Remember, this is LeBron James.
07:05Everybody loved LeBron.
07:06Everybody loved LeBron.
07:06This was the first time that there was ever any faction that didn't love LeBron.
07:13And the idea was he's going to stay in Cleveland.
07:16Bulls fan thought.
07:18His name was Rene.
07:19Like, I can picture him going, here comes Chicago.
07:22And then running upstairs, grabbing his LeBron jersey that he just thought was a cool jersey to have.
07:28Tearing it in half while my brother and I are going nuts.
07:33Pots and pans.
07:34Like, we were ready.
07:36We already thought we had a championship roster with Wade and Bosh.
07:41Man, what a day.
07:44What a night that was.
07:45I posted on Facebook.
07:47I will be watching 41 All-Star games in Section 115 next season.
07:53You weren't wrong.
07:55I mean, that's what we were watching.
07:57All-Star games.
07:59Crazy, man.
08:00Man, I cannot believe that was 16 years ago.
08:05Might happen again.
08:06I think today's the day.
08:08I do, just because it's the anniversary.
08:10We talked about this yesterday.
08:12But, you know, again, my gut's telling me Cleveland.
08:16And it's just, you wash away.
08:20I have a feeling today, and LeBron, again, I don't think he would ever acknowledge it.
08:26And really, how many bad days could he have?
08:28He's kind of got the world by the nuts.
08:32But I would say 16 years ago today is one of his darker memories.
08:41It shouldn't be, but I would probably assume, like, he doesn't love reliving because he became a villain in an
08:52instant, and he had never, ever been cast as a villain.
08:56What does he regret more, though?
08:58The TV special in Akron to announce he was leaving Akron?
09:02It was a huge misstep.
09:04Saying, I'm taking my talents to South Beach.
09:07Or is it the spectacle that follows LeBron, Wade, Bosch on a stage in front of thousands of Heat fans
09:18like if they were the Beatles?
09:19I don't think he regrets that as much as what he said, which was the not one, not two.
09:24But I think he regrets making this huge public announcement in Akron that he's leaving the city.
09:36What an unbelievable misstep where he thinks they're going to say, God bless you, we're with you on your travels.
09:45And they're burning his jerseys and garbage cans all across the city, and Dan Gilbert's coming out with a full
09:50-page ad going, yeah, you'll never work in this town again, you know.
09:55Wow, 16 years ago.
09:57All right, let's do headlines.
09:58Not a lot to get to today.
09:59Headlines brought to you by Dural Kia in Miami at a Domino's game.
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10:09When you think back to that moment, Dan Gilbert puts out that letter that Cleveland will win a title before
10:15the self-proclaimed king ever will.
10:19I thought at that moment, his time in Cleveland forever was done.
10:22Well, everyone did.
10:23I'm sure he did as well.
10:25Unless Dan Gilbert sold that organization.
10:28When I remember reading that letter from Dan Gilbert, I remember saying, oh my God, he made the best decision
10:33in the world.
10:33He got out of a place where people don't appreciate him, starting with the owner himself, who took it upon
10:40himself to just bash him on the way out.
10:43Self-proclaimed king.
10:45I would imagine, and obviously Dan Gilbert had no prior knowledge, or he wouldn't have reacted that way, but I
10:50would imagine most people in the Cleveland organization figured, oh, it's at the Boys and Girls Club in Akron.
10:56He ain't leaving Cleveland there.
11:00That's why it was such a huge misstep.
11:02Like, 16 years later, he wouldn't do that.
11:06It was a good idea to raise money for kids.
11:09It was a bad idea to do it when you were leaving.
11:12You could raise money for kids in a million different ways.
11:15You don't have to make them miserable as you're raising the money for them.
11:19Well, according to Sham Sharanya, this is basically being narrowed down to three teams.
11:24That's the way it feels.
11:26This was reported yesterday by Shams.
11:28The 76ers, or earlier today, excuse me, the 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and once again, LeBron James, not photoshopped, but
11:37in his former, number six Miami Heat jersey, is everywhere.
11:41It could happen.
11:42I wouldn't be, like, the most, I mean, I'd be shocked, but I wouldn't be unbelievably shocked, like, as if
11:48he would go to the Orlando Magic.
11:51You know what I mean?
11:52Like, if he announced, yeah, I want one more go-round with the Heat, I would get it, man.
11:57The Magic thing is so funny to me, Hawk.
11:59Do you remember, you might have been on vacation when you were in Vegas, so you might not have been
12:04on the air, but there was, like, a 48-hour window with the Giannis saga where everybody's talking about the
12:12Orlando Magic.
12:13Oh, Orlando's new coach has ties to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
12:18That's the real spot he's going to go to, and I laughed that off so quickly.
12:22Really, Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to leave Milwaukee, where he was the face of that city, to go win a ring
12:31and have a franchise build a contender around him.
12:35Yeah, I'm going to pick the Orlando Magic.
12:37Of all the teams he could have gone to, I'm going to pick the Orlando Magic, who blew a three
12:41-games-to-one series lead, have never won a title, and are coming off the season where their star player
12:46can't shoot and was in a public feud with their head coach at the time.
12:50That's the perfect situation for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
12:53I'm watching video right now on Hoop Central of the decision, and then just all these shots of, like, people
12:59crying in Cleveland, people burning his jerseys.
13:03Like, I mean, he had, he, I'm guessing the moment he said, I'm taking my talents to South Beach, it
13:10probably hit him that this didn't play the way that I thought it was going to play.
13:15But even, he hesitates, this fall, man, this is tough.
13:19Like, he almost couldn't believe.
13:20Like, wait a second, where am I doing this?
13:23Like, what, this may not have been my best idea.
13:27Man, this is tough.
13:28As he looks around at all the kids.
13:30Yeah.
13:31I'm out.
13:32Later.
13:33Yeah.
13:33Deuces.
13:35That's like, that's like announcing a divorce when the kids get home from school.
13:41Well, and like, assembling them all.
13:43And by the way, invite your friends over, too.
13:45We're going to have pizza.
13:46You're like, oh, fantastic.
13:48Great.
13:49You're all here.
13:50This is great.
13:50I'm leaving your life.
13:53Yeah.
13:55I have gotten a lot of pizza, though.
13:58Right.
13:59And some crazy bread.
14:02And, you know, some apple pie pizza.
14:08The little dessert pizza.
14:11And I'm going to be gone now, though.
14:13I'm not coming back.
14:14I'm leaving, Mom.
14:15And I know you've known me your entire life.
14:19But, kids, eat up.
14:21And I will see you when I see you.
14:23I have a big party to get to.
14:27Appreciate you coming out.
14:28Appreciate you all being here.
14:30But, deuces.
14:31I am gone.
14:32I am gone.
14:33How about this?
14:34A couple facts about that season prior to him announcing the decision.
14:39So, they end up losing in the conference finals to the Boston Celtics.
14:43The Cavs that year, Hawk, were the number one seed in the NBA, defeated by the Celtics in
14:49game six.
14:50LeBron is coming off his second consecutive MVP award.
14:55He doesn't leave, right?
14:56If they win the championship.
14:57He does not leave.
14:58He does not leave.
14:59He might not leave if he got to the finals.
15:02That would have been a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant finals because the Celtics end up winning
15:06that year.
15:06Was it in Akron or New York?
15:08People are saying that the TV studio was in New York.
15:11Oh, I thought it was.
15:12I thought it was in Akron.
15:13Wasn't it at an Akron Boys and Girls Club?
15:14I thought so.
15:17Where was LeBron's decision film?
15:22Oh, yeah.
15:23Greenwich, Connecticut.
15:24Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.
15:27That's Greenwich.
15:27Well, how's it spelled, Hawk?
15:31I know how to spell green and I know what witch is.
15:34That's Greenwich.
15:36Okie dokie.
15:36Why is it Greenwich?
15:37Why is the W silent?
15:38I don't know, but I'm sure you've heard of Greenwich, Connecticut before.
15:42I'm not so certain, man.
15:43And I question whether you've ever heard of Greenwich, Connecticut.
15:48So that's the latest on the LeBron front.
15:51Just the Shams report that it's the 76ers, the Cavaliers, and the Miami Heat seem to be
15:57the front runners in the race.
16:00And then, you know, people are weighing in on backlash once again.
16:04If LeBron would perhaps be a bit afraid of some backlash on a certain team that he would
16:10go to.
16:11I think, you know, the Miami Heat fall into that category.
16:13If he's just worried about any backlash, you mentioned it, though.
16:16He's got the world by the balls.
16:18Does it really matter anymore at this point?
16:20But I don't know if that factors into his decision.
16:23If I choose Miami again to go play with Giannis, does that once again negatively impact the
16:31way people view me around the league?
16:32I don't think so.
16:33I don't think so.
16:34I don't think he has any fears whatsoever of people thinking, oh, your legacy is ruined.
16:43We know who LeBron James is.
16:45He is the second best basketball player to ever play the game right after Michael Jordan.
16:51There's nothing that he can do to lessen that.
16:55Is that the biggest sports moment, but off the court sports moment of the 21st century?
17:04Like when we talk about where were you when this happened?
17:08Because we could mention like titles.
17:11Barry Bonds, this popped up yesterday at my Twitter feed.
17:13Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's all-time record.
17:15Like I remember sitting down in front of my TV.
17:18Right, but records get broken.
17:19There's nothing out of the ordinary of records getting broken.
17:22Now some records hold on longer and it becomes more extraordinary that a record gets broken.
17:28This had never happened before.
17:30Something like this had never happened before and really has never happened since.
17:37It's a bit more prevalent people leaving free agency, but like not in this fashion.
17:43Prime of your career.
17:44Prime of your career in the only city you've ever played in.
17:49That you're from.
17:51And...
17:52Doing it on live television.
17:57Where there are no leaks.
17:59No one knew.
18:01Crazy.
18:02Chris Broussard knew.
18:04Who knew?
18:04There was a guy.
18:05There was a wacky writer.
18:07Chris Sheridan.
18:09Chris Sheridan knew.
18:11Was it Chris Sheridan?
18:12There was a guy named Chris Sheridan.
18:13He's had a lot of issues, but Chris Sheridan.
18:15Yeah, he used to write for CBS.
18:16I remember.
18:17I think it was SI.
18:18Was it SI?
18:19Sheridan Hoops.
18:20The Chris Broussard cut that's really funny is...
18:24It's the percentages, right?
18:25Didn't he do percentages?
18:26Well, in 2014, LeBron just kind of announced via SI, I'm coming home.
18:33And there's this clip live on SportsCenter.
18:37Chris Broussard still working for ESPN.
18:38They're live on SportsCenter.
18:40And they come back from commercial break.
18:42LeBron James going back to Cleveland.
18:44And I forget who the anchor was.
18:45He's like, well, we have breaking news.
18:47LeBron James is going back to Cleveland.
18:49And Chris Broussard goes...
18:51Checks his phone.
18:52You can see...
18:52He checks his phone.
18:53He's like, wait.
18:54Yeah, it's confirmed.
18:57Like, oh, okay.
18:58It was so awkward.
18:59Everybody's like, yeah.
19:01He put out...
19:02He's like...
19:02He looked at his phone.
19:03He's like, wait.
19:04And he texts.
19:05And he's like, yeah, it's confirmed.
19:07And he's showing everybody his phone.
19:09And they're like, yeah.
19:11He posted the article.
19:14That's funny.
19:15The Marlins tonight.
19:17They're back at it.
19:186.40 p.m.
19:19They're in a wild card position.
19:22It's another exciting finish for the fish.
19:25As Hawk mentioned, 6.40 p.m.
19:27You can listen to the game right here on FM 104.3 WQAM.
19:31No World Cup tonight.
19:32I know.
19:33I miss it.
19:34What do we do?
19:35Watching a little Wimbledon.
19:36Yeah.
19:37That's Coco Gauff and Jessica Pagula.
19:39A couple of Americans.
19:42This is old, by the way.
19:43Coco Gauff into the semifinal.
19:45She beat Jessica Pagula the other day.
19:47Probably 8.30 at night there, right?
19:48Yeah.
19:50Novak Djokovic.
19:51Went on something live, Jimmy.
19:53Novak Djokovic, though.
19:55I don't know.
19:55You watched.
19:56Five-setter yesterday.
19:58Against Aujel Yassim, who's the third-ranked player in the world.
20:01Goes five sets.
20:03He's 38, 39 years old.
20:06And he's going back to the semis at Wimbledon.
20:08He's going to play Yannick Sinner.
20:10Just stupid stuff, man.
20:11Dude's stupid.
20:12When you want to hear my take on why Novak should be considered a top-five athlete of all time,
20:17I've got that in the article.
20:18You just let me know, Hawk.
20:19All right, I'll keep it in the hopper.
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