LeBron James has made his decision. He's going to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.
James made his long-awaited announcement in a hastily arranged ESPN special Thursday night, July 8 in Greenwich, Conn., and James wasted no time in making a prediction: "We're going to be a real good team."
ESPN televised James' decision live from a Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Conn., a group with which James has a relationship.
Wearing a lavender shirt and jeans, James arrived at the club about 8:50 p.m. and entered through a side door, missing most of the crowd. As folks realized it was James exiting a van, the crowd of about 400 people began chanting "New York Knicks, New York Knicks," then switched to "LeBron James."
Frank Sanchez, the vice president for corporate and partner relationships for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, said James approached the organization last weekend about using its location for his big show.
The TV special should raise at least $1 million to help refurbish gyms under a program that James' foundation will help direct, and kids from the Greenwich club were invited to attend the announcement, Sanchez said.
James, Bosh and Wade entered the pros in the same year, the respective Nos. 1, 4 and 5 picks in the 2003 draft. They went their separate ways: James to Cleveland, Bosh to Toronto and Wade to Miami, where he won a championship partnered with center Shaquille O'Neal in 2006. That year, James, Bosh and Wade all signed matching contracts to make sure they were all unrestricted free agents at the same time.
They won gold medals together at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and are now poised to unite in South Florida.
Season-ticket sales for the Heat's coming 41-game season were suspended Thursday afternoon after the entire supply of available seats were sold out. Not every seat has been released for sale yet and some will be held back for single-game purchases at the 19,600-capacity arena.
Pictured above is LeBron James.
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