While the Cleveland Cavaliers enjoyed a dominant 129-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, the story of the game was LeBron James’ return to Northeast Ohio.
But as ESPN’s Jorge Sedano asked Cavs star Donovan Mitchell about the warm welcome that the 4-time NBA MVP received from his former franchise, Cleveland forward Jaylon Tyson interjected.
“This is Donovan Mitchell’s city now,” the second-year player said. “When he comes back here, we’re going to make sure everybody roots for him like they did for [James]. This is his city.”
Mitchell, for what it was worth, was much more deferential.
“As much as I appreciate that, at the end of the day, he’s laid the foundation,” he said of James. “They’ve done a lot for the city being from here. Obviously, you want to replicate that. He deserves the energy that he’s got here.”
“This is Donovan Mitchell’s city now.”
Jaylon Tyson giving Spida props after beating LeBron and the Lakers 😅 pic.twitter.com/CwFSCl9QkR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 29, 2026
But while Tyson may have merely been praising his teammate, many perceived his comment as a slight at James. In his postgame press conference, the Cal product insisted that wasn’t the case, noting that the Akron, Ohio, native is the very reason he grew up a fan of the team he now plays for.
“There was no disrespect there,” Tyson said of his postgame comments. “I didn’t wan to disrespect or step on anybody’s toes. That’s one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Obviously, I was a Cavs fan growing up because of him. I didn’t want to take away from him, I just wanted to give Don his flowers. That was my biggest goal in it.
“If I offended anybody or anybody got mad about it, I’m sorry. I take personal responsibility. But I just wanted to give the man his flowers because we want to do the same thing that Bron and them did here, we want to do that with [Mitchell] as our leader.”
Jaylon Tyson on his remarks post game:
“There was no disrespect there. Bron is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. I was a Cavs fan growing up because of him. If I offended anyone, I’m sorry. I take personal responsibility. We want to do the same thing Bron did.” https://t.co/y5kE1TUbJK pic.twitter.com/gBus9x9eAR
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) January 29, 2026
As for James, the 4-time NBA champion has yet to issue any sort of response to Tyson’s comments. It’s worth noting, however, that ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported on Wednesday that the Cavs would “gladly welcome” the 41-year-old back to the franchise if he wants to return when he becomes a free agent this summer, which could create quite the conundrum when it comes to the question of which NBA star the city of Cleveland actually belongs to.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.