CLEVELAND — LeBron James, primary author of the only championship in Cavaliers’ history, was greeted by thunderous applause and a standing ovation during a timeout in the first quarter of Cleveland’s playoff game against the Boston Celtics on Monday night.

James, 39, attended the game with his wife, Savannah, and longtime agent and business partner Rich Paul, who still represents multiple players on the Cavs’ roster.

The kid from Akron returns 👑

LeBron James is in the building for Game 4 of Cavs-Celtics tonight.

🎥 @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/PhO9V15Ts9

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— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) May 13, 2024

As is customary when any former Cleveland player from the franchise’s glory days of four consecutive finals from 2015-18 returns, James was treated to a highlight video and bone-rattling introduction. Fans, some of them perhaps unaware he was seated courtside, watched the video presentation during the timeout, and any cheers were drowned out by the sound from the jumbotron.

But when James was introduced, and shown seated in his jean jacket and backwards cap, well, Clevelanders went berserk.

Screaming. Applause. Towel waving.

James sipped his drink of choice, this night a nice white wine, from a disposable coffee cup, while speaking animatedly to Paul throughout the game. Maybe he was into it, or perhaps it was just trying to be heard over the booming music and shrieks of a delighted crowd during a close game.

James, who was born about 40 miles south of Cleveland, in Akron, Ohio, and played 11 of his 21 NBA seasons as a Cavalier, was the MVP of the 2016 Finals in which Cleveland won in a dramatic, seven-game series. He left the organization for the second time as a free agent in the summer of 2018 and headed to the Los Angeles Lakers, who, for now, still have him under contract.

James has a $51.4 million player’s option with the Lakers for next season. He can opt out and become a free agent. Also, his son, Bronny James, a freshman at USC, declared for the NBA Draft, and it so happens the Cavs have the 20th pick.

Does any of this mean that either LeBron or Bronny is coming to Cleveland? No (the Lakers are expected to make him a huge contract offer and, if he wants them to, would draft his son), but James showing up courtside for a Cavs playoff game brings about such speculation.

When he was here for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, he refused to rule out another return to the franchise when asked by The Athletic. Or, it just could have been LeBron and Savannah getting back to the Akron area for Mother’s Day, or a drop in at the public school in Akron he opened. Or all of the above.

Members of the Kardashian family, and actor Mark Wahlberg, a noted Celtics fan, were also expected to attend the game.

Required reading

(Photo: Lauren Leigh Bacho / NBAE via Getty Images)

Khloé Kardashian took her kids to a Cleveland Cavaliers game to watch their father, Tristian Thompson, play professionally for the first time.

The Good American co-founder was spotted at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Oh., alongside her 6-year-old daughter, True, and 1-year-old son, Tatum, Monday night.

Sources told TMZ that the little ones haven’t attended an NBA game and True has been asking to watch her dad play live.

While Tatum is too young to understand the sport, Kardashian, 39, believes he will enjoy watching Thompson, 33, play against the Boston Celtics, per the outlet.

Insiders also claimed Khloé wanted to make the experience extra special for her kids and Kim Kardashian’s son Saint West, who joined the outing.

Ahead of the game, the mom of two was seen walking in a secluded area of the event center while wearing an all-leather fit, per a video posted to X.

True happily walked by her side while styling an adorable all-pink outfit with purple boots.

As for Tatum and West, they repped Thompson’s jersey.

While Khloé and the basketball pro are no longer together, they maintain an amicable co-parenting relationship for their kids.

However, the “Kardashians” star admitted on some days it’s not easy to get along with Thompson, who was involved in several cheating scandals during their relationship.

“I had to learn to take control of my feelings,” she told tmrw magazine in January. “It’s way harder to be nice. It’s way harder when you’re really mad at someone, it’s really hard to sit in their face in front of your kids and be like, ‘Hi!’”

Khloé hypothesized that it would be “easy to never talk to him again and to just badmouth him,” though she doesn’t feel that way every day.

Thompson cheated on the reality star throughout their on-and-off relationship from 2016 to 2021 and during both of their pregnancies.

Ahead of True being born in 2018, the NBA star was seen flirting with a mystery woman while at a lounge in New York City.

“When I had True, I found out 48 hours before she was born that Tristan was cheating on me, and then I went into labor weeks early because I was so stressed out,” Khloé shared during Season 2 of her family’s reality TV show on Hulu.

The former couple called it quits when Thompson was spotted kissing Kylie Jenner’s former bestie, Jordyn Woods in 2019.

They later reconciled and decided to have another baby via surrogate. However, after transferring the embryo in November 2021, Khloé learned the serial cheater was expecting another child with a fitness model.

Despite their woes, the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” alum claimed that Thompson is an “incredible father” to both of their kids.

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