This is an accepted version of this page The Decision is a 2010 American television special that aired on ESPN on July 8, 2010, in which National Basketball Association (NBA) player LeBron James announced which team he would join for the 2010–11 season.

[6] He was courted for recruitment by several teams, including the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Cavaliers.

'"[8] Wagner's idea was inspired by the trend of high school seniors being recruited announcing their college choice in a news conference.

[8][9] After James and the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA playoffs in May, Simmons thought there was no way for the idea to proceed, and he was no longer involved.

ESPN gave away the airtime as barter syndication, allowing James' team to sell ads in exchange for the news story.

[11] Before the special aired, Chris Broussard, who was one of the show's presenters, reported that James would join the Heat based on statements he had heard from multiple sources.

[10][13] At 9:28 p.m EDT, James announced that he would play with Miami in the 2010–11 season, teaming with the Heat's other All-Star free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (who had joined from the Toronto Raptors).

[17] Riley sold to James that "LeBron would be Magic Johnson, Dwyane Wade would be Kobe Bryant, Chris would be Kevin Garnett".

[27] Associated Press wrote that The Decision joined The Move, The Drive, The Shot, and The Fumble in "Cleveland's sports hall of shame".

[14] Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert wrote an open letter to fans published in Comic Sans typeface on the Cavs website, denouncing James' decision as a "selfish", "heartless", "callous", and "cowardly betrayal", while declaring that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the "self-declared former King".

Gilbert's sports-memorabilia company Fathead also lowered the price of wall graphics depicting James from $99.99 to $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold.

A. Adande of ESPN said, however, that James chose to promote the drama of his decision in an hour-long television special instead of showing "common courtesy" to notify Cleveland and other teams of his plans.

[44] Adande, also African American, had a different view, saying James "didn't claim to be a victim of racial persecution" and "caused us to examine the bias that's always lurking".

[47] James relented about the TV special before the 2011–12 season: "if the shoe was on the other foot and I was a fan, and I was very passionate about one player, and he decided to leave, I would be upset too about the way he handled it.

[52] Their 2011 first overall pick, Kyrie Irving, was named the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year, and was also the MVP of both the All-Star Game and the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014.

When James announced his return to the Cavaliers for the 2014–15 season in a Sports Illustrated essay on July 11, 2014, he alluded to the controversy surrounding the special, saying "I'm not having a press conference or a party.