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LeBron James sends cupcakes and a sweet note of apology to his neighbors after a media deluge

kelly dwyer
LeBron James sends cupcakes and a sweet note of apology to his neighbors after a media deluge

Gifted cupcakes are an excellent apology vessel. Even those with the smallest of sweet-teeth or most diligent of diets can’t help but sample one; and because of the confection’s size and ability to hold toppings, both amateur and professional bakers can’t help but get creative with the tasty little things.

This is probably the line of thinking that influenced LeBron James’ family to call up Baker Boulevard Decadent Desserts on Tuesday and ask them to deliver a box of cupcakes to James’ neighbors in Bath Township, Ohio. The neighborhood has been besieged by media of late as James worked on making his career-altering free agent decision, and LBJ and family wanted to thank his neighbors for their patience in dealing with the media and rabid fans that came out to take pictures of houses that didn’t have LeBron James in them.

Here is a picture of the note that James and Baker Boulevard Decadent Desserts sent along:

(Courtesy twitter.com/JonCheyney)
(Courtesy twitter.com/JonCheyney)

And a shot of the cupcakes, which included titles like “Just a Kid from Akron Cherry Cola,” and “Homecourt Chocolate Chunk.”

From ABC 5 in Cleveland:

David Galehouse lives on Fryman Drive, a street away from LeBron's, and was really appreciative of the gesture.

"I thought it was really great of him to do that. He's never done anything like that in the past."

Galehouse wasn't home when the cupcakes were delivered but his cousin Laura Basford and her boyfriend Jon Cheyney were stopping by to see Galehouse's mom when they first spotted the delivery.

"At first we were laughing at it because we had no idea what was going on," Basford said. "Initially we were thinking they were trying to sell something from door to door but then we found out they were from LeBron. I think it was a really neat gesture."

In the days leading up to James’ decision, it was pretty obvious that he had his heart set on Cleveland, as a desperate last-minute meeting in Las Vegas between James and former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade failed to immediately sway the two-time NBA Finals MVP into returning to South Beach. In re-signing with the same Cleveland Cavaliers team he worked with from 2003 to 2010, James made the right basketball (the Cavs have a cadre of young talent and very tradeable assets that they can still deal to improve), financial (LeBron will give up more money initially, but in signing a series of short-term contracts he can make a killing in the long run), and personal (he is, after all, from northern Ohio) moves.

Though it seems like an easy decision in retrospect, James still needed to dutifully take his time in considering his options, and construct his announcement. The byproduct of such a procedure wasn’t as embarrassing as the last go-round, but it still probably frayed a few nerves in Bath Township. You wouldn’t want a bunch of news vans and annoying teenagers in LeBron jerseys clogging up your streets, even if it mean the world’s greatest player was coming home to play for the local team.

Cupcakes, as always, are the proper answer.

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!