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Not everyone had a glowing reaction to the news that LeBron James would be returning to his original team of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While plenty of rappers and even Dwyane Wade gave the LBJ homecoming their stamp of approval, the proverbial king has a detractor in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who is likening the move to that of a wayward husband who comes crawling back to his wife after getting his fill of sexier mistresses.

In a critical op-end piece written for Time, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer questioned the overall motive of James trek to back to Cleveland, where he recently signed a two-year deal worth $41 million. His four-year stint with the Miami Heat (following the skewered public announcement known as “The Decision) ended with a definitive loss in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, but did earn the four-time MVP two back-to-back championships and four consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals.

None of this mattered from Jabbar’s perspective who wrote, “LeBron’s return to Cleveland is less that of the prodigal son’s triumphant return home than the straying husband who abandoned his longtime partner to chase a younger, hotter, firmer slice having second thoughts. Having realized he traded a deep love for a sweaty romp, he’s coming home with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a diamond bracelet in the other, begging forgiveness for his foolish mistake of lustful youth.” Wowzers.

The 67-year-old basketball great wasn’t holier that thou in his piece, however. He harkened back on his experience with the Milwaukee Bucks in the 70s when he desired to return to his hometown New York Knicks. When a trade couldn’t be worked out in his favor, he headed to the Los Angeles Lakers where he won a handful of championships and a MVP award. Still, the overall message was nothing will be the same in Ohio.

“But in another way, LeBron can’t go home again,” Jabbar concluded “At least not to the home he once knew. They may be grateful and joyful, but they are also wiser. Like the betrayed spouse, they will have to wait and see, they will have to be wooed, they will have to be convinced that his sincerity, to quote “Porgy and Bess,” ain’t a sometime thing.”

Read the entire article in full over at Time.

Photo: Joseph Marzullo/WENN.com