LeBron James Confirms Pat Riley Removed Cookies from Team Flights During Heat Tenure

If only Pat Riley had left the cookies alone, LeBron James might not have left the Miami Heat.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, James confirmed that Riley would remove cookies from team flights during his tenure with the Heat.

James went on to say that Riley has a singular focus on all things about the "Heat shield" and he "don't give a f--k" about anything else.

Heat legend Dwyane Wade first told the story about Riley and the chocolate chip cookies in February during an appearance on The Underground Lounge.

Wade's recollection of the event was that Riley had a package of cookies that James brought on the team plane removed, causing a card game that was happening to stop in its tracks (starts at 29:21 mark).

Wade joked that was the first "inkling" he had that James might not return to the Heat when he became a free agent.

That turned out to be a prescient moment for Wade because James opted out of his deal with Miami in the summer of 2014 and went back to the Cleveland Cavaliers four years after The Decision.

There were other issues with the Heat that may have contributed to James' decision to leave. Riley reportedly wanted him to sign for less than the max to give the front office more roster flexibility.

To his credit, Riley did admit several years after James left the Heat that it was the "right thing" for the four-time MVP to do. He didn't mention anything about the cookies in his reasoning.

Even though James' tenure in Miami only lasted four seasons, it was an incredibly successful time for the franchise. The Heat made the NBA Finals every year during that span, winning back-to-back titles in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

Of course, James went on to play in four straight Finals with the Cavs after leaving Miami. If Riley hadn't taken away his cookies, maybe the Heat would have made it to the Finals in eight consecutive years.

That would have been the second-longest streak of Finals appearances in NBA history, trailing only the Boston Celtics' run of 10 straight from 1957 to '66.