What was supposed to be a night of nostalgia celebrating the homecoming of the ‘Kid from Akron’ took a sharp turn during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ post-game press conference. A Cavaliers youngster who was not even born when LeBron James made his NBA debut, went a little rogue. It forced Donovan Mitchell into immediate damage control to restore the organization’s grace.

When the Cavs hosted the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, they were prepared for what could be King James‘ final game in this arena. They reduced him to tears with an emotional video tribute and standing ovation right before the Cavs blew them out with a 129-99 stunner.

But the clincher was when rookie Jaylon Tyson opened his mouth to make a bold, disparaging claim regarding LeBron James’ standing in the city. “It’s Donovan Mitchell’s city now. It’s Donovan Mitchell’s city now. When we come back here, we are gonna make sure everybody root for him.” He said that next to Donovan Mitchell and he seemingly didn’t like his teammate’s answer.

The Internet was already up in arms from that comment when Spida truly confirmed James’ impact on Cleveland. “As much as I appreciate that, I think at the end of the day he laid the foundation, right?” Mitchell stated, pointedly correcting the narrative. “Like, they have done a lot for the city from being down here. You know you obviously wanna replicate that. He deserves the energy he has got here. At the end of the day, first title in 57 years.”

His comments were juxtaposed with the banners that Bron brought to the Cavaliers, including consecutive Eastern Conference Finals and the 2016 championship. Mitchell expressed his desire to continue James’ legacy by bringing another championship to the city.

His swift intervention served as a necessary reminder that, while he is the current face of the franchise, the Cavaliers’ history is undeniably linked to the man who ended the city’s championship drought. But it wasn’t enough to salvage his rookie’s face.

Jaylon Tyson immediately corrected his mistake

The Cavaliers are playing some of their best basketball since their homegrown star departed for Los Angeles, with Donovan Mitchell at the center of their resurgence. That success gives the players every reason to be confident. Still, rarely has that confidence crossed into such overt territorialism over the franchise’s legacy—especially on a night when Cleveland welcomed two generations of the James family into the building, with both LeBron and Bronny taking the floor in the same arena.

LeBron James made his NBA debut on October 29, 2003. Jaylon Tyson was born two months after that. So he probably didn’t grow up understanding how much the Akron Hammer meant to the city.

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His comment seemed to dismiss James’ two-decade legacy in Northeast Ohio and went viral online with what many perceived as disrespect. Mitchell may have de-escalated the situation but the Bron faithful wanted better from Tyson.

He must’ve detected the anger from his ‘joke’ because he corrected himself during the post-game presser. “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.”

That seems to tie in with Mitchell’s comments, that the team wants to replicate James’ success with another banner. It seems possible if the team continue this momentum and remain healthy. And if rumors are to be believed, maybe Tyson would end up teammates with the guy Cleveland still loves.