Earlier in the day, LeBron James took his fans on a trip down memory lane, recalling one of his most iconic performances from 13 years ago. The game held special significance for “The Akron Hammer” because it silenced his critics, including then-Magic general manager Otis Smith, who had publicly criticized James for joining the other Sunshine State franchise in 2010.
In his first game against the Magic as a Heat player, James scored 51 points and secured the victory. On his Instagram Stories, he re-shared a video posted by @lbjhistory of his game against the Magic in 2011 and captioned it, “Competitor [competitor] these 50 pieces. In this way, he let people know what happens when they talk too much about negative things. The King.
Many criticized James for his decision in 2010. However, few general managers thought to express their displeasure to the media. A day after LeBron announced his trade, Otis Smith said:
“I was surprised that he left [to Miami]…I thought he was more of a competitor.“
Smith expected James to want to win on his own team, against modern greats like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard.
“The big ones do it and usually stay in one place… It’s a new era. It’s a little different from my time.“
Smith was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 1986 and played in the league until 1993. In 1989, he was one of 12 players selected by the Orlando Magic in their expansion draft. Perhaps that’s why he was more offended by James joining the other team in Florida. Perhaps he also knew that the Magic’s run to the 2009 Finals would be much harder to replicate with the Big 3 in their conference.
However, Smith’s choice to reveal it to the media led to an electrifying vendetta game from The King. On February 3, 2011, the Orlando Magic hosted the Miami Heat for their first game of the season. And LeBron James made a splash, scoring his first 11 shots.
By the end of the first quarter, he had already scored 23 points. By the third quarter, Miami had pulled ahead of the Magic by 16 points. LeBron was out for the start of the fourth quarter until the Magic mounted a comeback.
James then came back strong and hit a vital three-pointer and a couple of key free throws to secure the Heat’s 104-100 victory.
King James finished the night with 11 rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a block to go along with his 51 points. Incredibly, he shot 17 of 25, 3 of 5 from three-point range and 14 of 17 from the free throw line. For Otis Smith, that should have signaled that this was indeed a new era.
