With the high school sports season over, I’ve diverted my attention elsewhere.

I’m not going to be mistaken for an NBA fan. The last time I was really into pro hoops was in 1998. I was a Karl Malone fan and that year, Michael Jordan and the Bulls beat the Jazz in the NBA Finals for the second straight season. Since then, my interest has been very casual, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t rooting for one of the two teams remaining.

I still can’t forgive LeBron James for the manner in which he left Cleveland three years ago. We’ve all seen high profile athletes become stars in one city and then leave for more money. Take Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Greg Maddux, for example.

But James felt the need to broadcast his “Decision” on ESPN in July 2010, telling the world that he had decided to take his talents to South Beach, where he would join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form “The Big Three.” Apparently, several millions of dollars were raised from the broadcast and given to childrens’ charities. In my mind, there are many other ways to raise money that don’t involve kicking a city while it’s down.

Some Cavaliers fans took the event so personally, they burned James’ No. 23 jersey in the streets. OK, that may be going a bit too far. But I can see why basketball fans in Cleveland felt insulted.

It was almost inevitable that James was going to leave, but he could have done it with some class.

Now James and the Miami Heat are in their third straight NBA Finals, looking to win back-to-back championships.

For me, it was easy to root for James when he first got to the Finals as a Cavalier in 2007 against, ironically enough, San Antonio.

Back then, James was the lone superstar on his team as Cleveland was the underdog against a Spurs squad that featured Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Those three players are a big reason why San Antonio is currently in search of its fifth title in 15 years. But the tables have turned. Miami managed a 27-game winning streak this season and ran away with the league’s best regular-season record at 66-16. Many people figured that no team, including the savvy Spurs, could handle the Heat in a seven-game series and the former entered the Finals as a decided underdog.

James is a great player, no doubt. His 26.8 points, 7.3 assists and eight rebounds per contest this season cannot be ignored. But for me, much like the New York Yankees have been for years in baseball, the Heat have become the “evil empire” in the NBA.

There are rumors that James could end up back in Cleveland after Miami gets sick of paying him. Maybe some Cavalier fans can forgive and forget, but I’m sure the majority refuse to do so.

Can you blame them?

Go Spurs!

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.