[Archive 2010-07-09] NBA: LeBron James announces that he will join the Miami Heat

Historical archive — originally published 2010-07-09. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

NBA small forward LeBron James announced today that he will "take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat," after spending six years as the star player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Anticipation over LeBron's future team had been simmering for weeks as NBA teams tried to lure the free agent to their rosters. LeBron had met with representatives from the Cavaliers, Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Los Angeles Clippers.

Though Cleveland had offered James more money, to James and new teammates Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, winning seemed to be more important. Both Wade and Bosh settled for less cash, instead fitting James into Miami's salary cap space.

Wade had announced Wednesday that he would be continuing to play in Miami, while Bosh decided to move to Florida from the Toronto Raptors. The three were drafted in 2003 and were teammates in the 2008 US Olympic basketball team. Wade said that playing with James and Bosh was "going to be crazy," while Bosh tweeted, "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Fans in Miami honked horns outside the Heat's home arena, while television images from Cleveland showed LeBron James's jerseys being burned. Prior to the announcement, amid rumors that James would sign with the Heat, Heat season tickets had sold out.

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