On Friday, LeBron James announced his decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While it was dubbed by many as, “Decision 2.0”, a reference to the debacle that was the televised “Decision” in 2010, the two events could not have been more different.

At age 25, entering the prime of his career, LeBron made the foolish decision of announcing where he would be signing his next contract by making it into a television special. When he chose Miami over his home state of Ohio, the fans of the team were angered and felt that they were made a mockery of on national television. The team’s owner, Dan Gilbert, did not help matters by penning what will go down in history as one of the most immature and reactionary public letters of all time.

Four years later, with two world championships and two most valuable player awards under his belt, James decided to announce that he will be returning to Cleveland and did so through an essay that was released by Sports Illustrated. His reasoning for using an essay format was to address all speculation and questions as to why the return, why he wasn’t staying in Miami, and why he left in the first place.

The part of the essay that carried the most weight to many was his analogy of going to Miami for four years as a college experience — one that he never had due to forgoing college at age 18 and being drafted directly in to the NBA.

James was nicknamed, “King James”, at age 16 and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated several times as a teenager. He had a $90 million contract with Nike before ever stepping foot on the court as an NBA player.

His seven years with Cleveland included an NBA Finals appearance, All-Star appearances, and mentions of being the heir apparent to Michael Jordan. Being age 25, he had everything in the palm of his hand except for an NBA championship. The summer of 2010 and the year that followed was a combination of a gigantic mistake that he made due to arrogance and a humbling experience that he will never forget.

The four years away from Cleveland saw James become a hated player by fan-bases across the country. They rooted collectively for him to fail. This was nothing like anything he had experienced before — or probably any athlete for that matter. While he had his moments of trials and tribulations, he also went through a very important maturing process by dealing with the disciplined and organized approach that the Miami Heat organization brought to the table. Eventually, he succeeded in accomplishing his goal of winning multiple championships, restoring his image, and growing up.

That brings us to where we are today, a LeBron James all grown up as a real man. The four years away, his version of a college experience, did what an extended trip away does for many young-adults, whether it is college, the military, or moving to a new town and starting out fresh. He has seen his highs, he has seen his lows, he has become humbled while also remaining confident, and he understands how much he and his celebrity matters to people.

LeBron James is clearly the face of the league, and now once again, he is the King of Cleveland — only older, wiser, and a champion.