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LeBron James to join Miami Heat (1st Lead)

Jul 9, 2010, 3:09 GMT

Photo made from television screen showing LaBron James, NBA\'s reigning two-time MVP, as he ends months of speculation and announces 08 July 2010 on ESPN \'The Decision\' in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, that he will go to the Miami Heat where he will play basketball next 2010-11 season. James said his decision was based on the fact that he wanted to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. EPA/ESPN

Washington - LeBron James Thursday ended the suspense over where the NBA's ultimate free agent would play, saying on ESPN that he would join Miami Heat.

The decision means James will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team he joined as a 17-year-old after a troubled childhood, only to become one of the country's premier basketball players, being twice named the NBA's Most Valuable Player by age 25.

'This is very tough,' James said before he announced his decision.

The one prize that has eluded James has been an NBA championship, and James said he hoped the move to Miami would give him that chance.

James said it was a 'heartfelt' decision, and 'hard to explain' to the people of Cleveland, Ohio, who have seen him 'grow from a 17- year-old kid to a 25-year-old man.'

'I never wanted to leave Cleveland and my heart will always be around that area,' he said. 'But the greatest challenge for me is to perform.'

'It's not leaving Cleveland ... It's about joining forces with two other guys' for whom he has a lot of respect, he said.

He was referring to the chance to play with two other highly- coveted players at Miami, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Playing next to them is a 'real challenge to myself,' he said.