LeBron chooses Miami

LeBron James wanted to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The only place that could happen was Miami. Get ready, NBA: A superstar trio is born.

Ending weeks of silence and drama, the two-time MVP said on his ESPN special from Greenwich, Conn. on Thursday night that he's decided to join the Miami Heat and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the championship he covets.

"The best opportunity to win and to win now and to win in the future also," James said. "Winning is a huge thing for me."

It's a huge victory for the Heat, who got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.

Heat president Pat Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.

And for Cleveland, a city scorned for generations by some of sports' biggest letdowns, James' long-awaited words represented a defeat perhaps unlike any other.

James is gone. Home sweet home no more.

He said he made the decision Thursday morning and knows it won't go over well in Ohio.

"They can have mixed emotions, of course," James said, adding that Akron will "always be home for me."

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Dan Gilbert reacts. (P.S. he's the Cavaliers owner, not some drunken fan in a bar.)

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE"

[Hmm. I wonder what the Vegas odds on that are?]

Dan Gilbert further blasts LeBron.

[Sheesh. Who wants an owner like that? Apparently Gilbert would have been fine with having a quitter on his team and was trying like hell to keep this "quitter"... Do the words "sore loser" come to mind?

Well, at least it'll guarantee a sellout when Miami comes to Cleveland next season.]

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[10/30/12] Before the game, Gilbert said he regrets guaranteeing the Cavs would win an NBA title before LeBron James, who left Cleveland as a free agent in 2010. ''Looking back now, that probably was not the most brilliant thing I've ever done in my life,'' Gilbert said.

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Reactions from sportswriters around the country.

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Justin Bieber's reaction

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OK, time to watch some 2008 Olympics video..

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Et tu, Otis?

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Masterful marketing

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Cavaliers try to regroup

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Jesse Jackson says Dan Gilbert has a slave-master mentality

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Dan Gilbert fined $100,000 by David Stern, but didn't think much of 'The Decision' either.

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Miami Heat aka the NWO (hey maybe Dennis Rodman will join next)

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[7/20/10] Steve Carrell had a Decision too

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[7/20/10] The inside story

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[8/2/10] Earl Monroe sees no issue with LeBron's move

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Getting the band together

[7/13/10] Udonis Haslem re-signs with Miami

[7/15/10] Mike Miller signs with Heat

[7/16/10] Miami re-signs Joel Anthony, signs Dexter Pittman

[7/17/10] Miami signs Zydrunas Ilgauskas

[7/19/10] Jamaal Magloire re-signs with Miami

[7/19/10] James Jones re-signs with Miami

[7/21/10] Juwan Howard signs with Heat

[7/22/10] Carlos Arroyo returns to the Heat

[7/27/10] Shavlik Randolph re-signs with Miami

[7/29/10] Eddie House signs with Heat for 2 years, 2.8 million

[8/8/10] Obama next to Miami?

[8/10/10] Jeff Van Gundy predicts Miami will be decent

[7/7/14] Dan Gilbert's letter removed