LeBron James thought the 2008 Cavaliers had a good chance of winning a title: “This is the best team we’ve had to start a season"

When he started his NBA journey, it was clear that LeBron James needed all the help he could get. The Cleveland Cavaliers tried to give him that during his first few seasons in the league. Regardless, the talent that the Cavs took in was not enough at the time.

Bron broke ground with the Cavs in his third season in the league. He altered the franchise's fortunes in 2006, leading them to their first playoff appearance since 1998. Things looked bright when the 2004 Rookie of the Year led Cleveland to the 2007 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers got swept by the eventual champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

From that moment on, LeBron regularly led the Cavs to the postseason until 2010. However, Cleveland needed to help LeBron or risk losing him to another team.

Longevity and Sustainability

At the time, Mo Williams was the next important player on the Cavs roster. However, despite being a talented player, James needed someone who could be by his side to start and end a strong season. Cleveland showed promise during the regular season. But the problem he and the Cavs faced back then was sustainability.

“This is the best team we’ve had to start a season. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. But preseason, looking at the talent we have, we have some good guys.” James stated via the New York Times after evaluating the manpower the Cavs had before the 2008-09 season.

Aside from Williams, other players who were part of that year's squad were Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Although that team showed spunk, it wasn't enough to give James the needed push to win an NBA title.

Wakeup Call for Bron

James and the Cavs were never able to replicate their 2007 Finals appearance. Their next best performance was during the 2009 playoffs when they reached the Eastern Conference finals. They lost to the Orlando Magic in six games, 4-2.

Failing to win his first NBA crown, Bron chose to move to the Miami Heat in 2010 after he became an unrestricted free agent. However, according to "The Chosen One," the decision was not entirely because of the Cavs' shortcomings. Instead, it was about the Boston Celtics that swayed him to go to the next level.

"I had to figure out and get with some guys that could be on the same level as Paul, Ray, (Rajon) Rondo, KG and those guys," James stated via Cleveland.com .

James would join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the Heat's "Big Three." The three superstars transformed the Heat into contenders, reaching the 2011 NBA Finals. Unfortunately, the Dallas Mavericks spoiled that run, winning it all in six games, 4-2.

Bron and company learned from that setback and returned with a vengeance in 2012. Miami won the 2012 NBA title over the Oklahoma City Thunder to bag its second NBA title. The Heat repeated in 2013 for back-to-back championship runs, this time at the expense of the San Antonio Spurs in seven games, 4-3.

From then on, James ensured he would get the necessary player support on whichever team he played for. Although he got his share of criticism, James still went on to win NBA rings. One was in 2016 when he returned to the Cavs .

His last one was with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020 alongside Anthony Davis. Will a fifth NBA ring come before he calls it a career? That all depends on whether the Lakers can provide James and Davis the right talent moving forward.

Related: "Everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I've been" - LeBron's bold assessment of himself during his epic 2015 playoff run