After meeting with teammates on Copacabana beach last Wednesday, the day the Cleveland Cavaliers arrived in Rio de Janeiro for Saturday’s match against the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to the sand of one of the Marvelous City’s tourist attractions to exercise on Thursday morning. The Cavs star left the hotel where the team is staying, ran along the water’s edge and did some functional exercises under the strong Rio sun. Afterwards, he took a dip to cool off. He was joined by teammates such as forwards Lou Amundson, Shane Edwards and Tristan Thompson.

During his new visit to the beach, which was guarded by security guards, LeBron didn’t pay much attention to the fans, but he did show some friendliness when he picked up two beach tennis balls and returned them to a couple who were playing and who thanked him without knowing who the “ball boy” was. In another incident, when he was crossing the street, the player had fun with the people who were with him. They ran across the street and had to listen to a loud honking from a driver. LeBron, who was standing on the sidewalk, laughed at the situation and joked that they were trying to kill him. The star player also signed an autograph on the shirt of an insistent boy and took a picture with a fan, back at the hotel.

LeBron (in sneakers) runs along the water’s edge at Copacabana beach (Photo: Fábio Leme)

LeBron James poses for a photo with a fan

(Photo: Fabio Leme / Globoesporte.com)

The duel between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat will be this Saturday, at 6 pm (Brasília time), at Arena da Barra. In addition to marking LeBron’s return to the Cavaliers jersey, Saturday’s friendly will also be King James’ reunion with his former Heat teammates, where he played for four seasons and won two NBA titles. SporTV will  broadcast the match, which will have real-time coverage from GloboEsporte.com. Canal Campeão subscribers can also watch it all on  SporTV Play .

In addition to the match between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, the NBA Global Games will host a series of events open to the public throughout the week. The most important of these will take place over the weekend at Ipanema Beach, with the presence of major stars who played in the NBA, such as Steve Smith and Gary Payton. Linked to the Heat staff, former center Alonzo “Zo” Mourning will also be in Rio.

This is the second time that the NBA will have a preseason game in Brazil. In 2013, Nenê’s Washington Wizards faced the Chicago Bulls, without Derrick Rose, and lost 83-81.

Lebron after a dip in the sea at Copacabana (Photo: Fabio Leme / Globoesporte.com)

Fan takes a “selfie” with Lebron James in the background (Photo: Fabio Leme / Globoesporte.com)

Cleveland Cavaliers players on Copacabana beach (Photo: Fabio Leme / Globoesporte.com)