LeBron James returning to Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron James is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers after four years with the Miami Heat.

James explained his decision to go home in a first-person story on Sports Illustrated.

"Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio," James told SI. "My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn't realize that four years ago. I do now."

When James left Cleveland, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert called him disloyal, a narcissist, a coward and a quitter. But James says if he were to do it all over again, he would have still left.

"Miami, for me, has been almost like college for other kids. These past four years helped raise me into who I am. I became a better player and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go. I will always think of Miami as my second home," James said.

James is from Akron, Ohio, not far from Cleveland. He spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland. When he was with the Heat, he went to the NBA Finals four times and won two championships. Now, he heads back to Cleveland with the hopes of finally delivering on his promise of winning a crown. Cleveland has never won an NBA title.

"I'm not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver," James said. "I'm going into a situation with a young team and a new coach. I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn't know they could go."

James doesn't turn 30 until this December, so it's safe to say that he just may be reaching his peak. The numbers he's put up in his first 11 NBA seasons already make him a lock for basketball immortality.

He's already 27th all-time in scoring with 23,170 points, and could climb into the top 20 next season. Since he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cavaliers in 2003, no one has logged more minutes, scored more points or had a better plus-minus ratio than James.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.