The basketball world turned on LeBron James nine years ago when he spurned his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. The beloved phenom clearly on his way to becoming one of the greatest players of all time suddenly became the league's preeminent villain, with millions of new detractors of his game because of it.

One NBA fan who was happy James chose to sign with the Heat? Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, who was 13-years-old back in the summer of 2010. Not only was he among a small minority of fans glad to see James takes his talents to South Beach, but Mitchell was actually in attendance for The Decision, too.

During a recent sit down with House of Highlights, Mitchell described what it was like to be at the Boys and Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut when James said the words that would change the NBA forever.

The Heat, of course, went on to make four straight Finals appearance and win back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013 before James returned to the Cavaliers. Less notable but just as important to the NBA landscape, his controversial decision to leave Cleveland in favor of Miami to play with two other superstars set a precedent for the league's best players to wield more power when it came to their playing futures.

Mitchell, meanwhile, went on to play two years at Louisville before the Jazz acquired him in a draft-night trade in 2017, in the interim establishing himself as one of the most dynamic young guards in basketball.