Le Batard & Friends Presents: The Step Back - The Decision (feat. Jim Gray & John Skipper)

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Meadowlark Media

Sports

4.7 • 32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As our exclusive new series on LeBron's legacy continues, Dan, Amin and Izzy re-live the awkward silence — and alternate history — of a made-for-TV moment that altered the course of Miami sports and player empowerment forever. More from "The Step Back": Episode 1: The Chosen One Don't miss an episode — subscribe here Homework for this episode: "The Decision" (ESPN, 2010) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4 Homework for next week's episode: "I'm Coming Home" by LeBron James, as told to Lee Jenkins (Sports Illustrated, 2014) - https://www.si.com/nba/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers Optional homework for next week's episode: "Return of the King" by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin (2018) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/return-of-the-king-lebron-james-the-cleveland-cavaliers-and-the-greatest-comeback-in-nba-history-brian-windhorst/9390251 Encouraged homework for next month's season finale: "There's Always This Year" by Hanif Abdurraqib (2025) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/there-s-always-this-year-on-basketball-and-ascension-hanif-abdurraqib/20204172 From our guest: "Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard" - https://www.talkingtogoats.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I mean, can I ask you to provide a dramatic reading of some of Dan's column?
0:07.1	LeBron's choice will reveal whether ego or glory fuels him.
0:11.4	Wait a minute. Hold on a second. Are we going to do this to you too?
0:14.4	Yes. This is going to make me very uncomfortable because this is a young me writing a column
0:19.7	about fit for a king.
0:21.4	LeBron James is coming to Miami.
0:23.6	It is the news that LeBron would change Miami sports, basketball in a way.
0:29.1	Okay, I'm not going to like that.
0:30.7	How long had you been a columnist before I get into this?
0:33.8	How long had you been a columnist?
0:34.7	It's been a minute.
0:35.9	This is 2010.
0:36.8	No, I would have been a columnist at this point for still about 10 years, right?
0:41.7	Okay, there's a vet right there, all right? Here we go.
0:44.7	I'm tired of this man being celebrated. For what? This is the step back.
0:50.1	Thanks, drive, steps back, puts up a three, and LeBron James from downtown.
0:56.0	The Cleveland Cavaliers select LeBron James.
0:59.7	LeBron, what's your decision?
1:00.8	I made a difficult decision, but I understood what my future was about.
1:04.8	I believe when president is trying to divide us.
1:06.9	My first response was you bum.
1:09.0	Welcome to episode two.
	...

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