5 Most Impactful Free Agent Signings In NBA History

3. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)

LeBron James in his first game for the Cavaliers in 2014.

LeBron James had four stellar seasons with the Miami Heat leading them to the NBA finals in each of his years at South Beach and also won two consecutive titles there. In 2014 though, the Heat were absolutely demolished by the San Antonio Spurs in five games and handed James his third finals defeat.

Later on, in 2014 James announced that he would not be re-signing with Miami and became a free-agent. On July 11, through Sports Illustrated he announced that he intended to go back to his hometown of Cleveland and sign with the Cavaliers.

Cleveland had acquired star point guard Kyrie Irving through the draft and also held the top pick in the 2014 draft. They used this pick to trade for Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The trio made an instant impact in Cleveland and have reached three consecutive finals. They won a title in 2016 which gave the city of Cleveland its first major sporting title in fifty-two years.

As long as James is still with the Cavs, they will continue to be title contenders. They look set to make their fourth consecutive appearance in the NBA finals and with the caliber of a player like LeBron, who is to say how many titles he will be able to bring to Cleveland.