Architects of 'The Decision' get to enjoy LeBron James' moment of glory as NBA champion

MIAMI LeBron James walked over to the side of the championship stage before proudly facing the other members of "The Four Horsemen" standing about 20 yards away. With his NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy cradled in his arm and a championship hat on his head, the Miami Heat forward yelled out, "Yo."

James then pointed at his friends, saluted them with his right hand and put his hand on his heart before dipping his head to give a silent thank you. The moment was missed by most of the celebrating Miami Heat fans as red and black confetti fell to the court after Miami's clinching 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. But for Maverick Carter, Randy Mims and Rich Paul, James' longtime friends and business managers, that show of love and appreciation after their bumpy road together will never be forgotten.

"He has us in his heart and we've been there with him the whole way," said Carter, wearing one of James' old Nike "Witness" T-shirts.

Said Sims: "It's a long time coming for him. I know everything he has been through."

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This group of childhood friends, who called themselves "The Four Horsemen," formally announced their arrival in 2005 when James fired agent Aaron Goodwin. They decided as a team they would determine the All-Star's fate off the court. The move seemed ridiculous at the time given their inexperience. Goodwin also had negotiated more than $135 million in endorsements for James, including a $90 million Nike contract.

"The Four Horsemen" gave birth to their own marketing firm to not only represent James but other athletes like Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul and NFL wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. James did eventually sign to be represented by agent Leon Rose with Creative Artists Agency. But Carter, the CEO of the LRMR group, led James' endorsement portfolio.

LRMR was initially laughed at. Now seven years after departing from Goodwin, James was recently ranked fourth on Forbes' list of richest athletes after making $53 million from June 2011 to June 2012. He is the top-ranked NBA player in that group.

"Being young and black and going into a business where you are trying to establish position and where you are able to make business decisions with the lack of what people would call an education, not having a degree, no one wanted to give us a chance," Paul said. "We were able to come through that and learn from a lot of people that we had around us and position ourselves to be, not necessarily just successful economically, but successful from a positioning standpoint to have a bright future.

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Architects of 'The Decision' get to enjoy LeBron James' moment of glory as NBA champion