In Rio, far from any pressure or fuss, LeBron James will meet the Heat again

LeBron James was welcomed at Dwyane Wade’s wedding last month. Udonis Haslem continues to maintain a friendship with his former teammate. Chris Andersen still wears his sneakers.

There’s no venom, no hatred, not even trash-talking.

There isn’t much of anything, to be perfectly frank.

So when the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers – James’ former team against James’ former-turned-current team – meet in a pre-season game Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, it won’t be some sort of streetfight, one team enraged because the player who helped them to four straight NBA Finals appearances left to go back to his hometown team.

Besides, it’s not like it counts, anyway.

“I’m sure everyone will try their best,” said Heat forward Chris Bosh, who raised some eyebrows Tuesday night when he said he hasn’t talked to James since he returned to the Cavaliers. “Not right now, but on Christmas Day.”

That’s the first “real” meeting with James as a Heat opponent again, when Cleveland visits Miami on one of the league’s biggest days, and surely that will be a matchup that commands much more fanfare than this one will. The Miami v Cleveland matchup in Brazil barely registered a blip when announced in April, and like most pre-season games, the outcome of this one will likely be forgotten long before the regular season opens at the end of the month.

“I think everybody is very cognizant of the fact that LeBron is playing against his old team and playing against a team where he had such great success and they had such great success,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Tuesday, before his team departed on their charter flight for Brazil. “And I’m sure, I’m sure, they understand that it’s a particular kind of game.”

Blatt was asked if it helps that the game will be played on a neutral site, far from Miami, even farther from Cleveland.

“I think it takes the pressure off of both sides, actually,” Blatt said. “I really do.”

It’s a game few people want to say much about.

James has downplayed the meaning of the matchup, perhaps in large part because there is no meaning to an exhibition game. Haslem simply smiled and said it’s merely a basketball game to him. Asked on Tuesday what he thought of coaching against James again, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he hadn’t spent too much time thinking about that aspect.

“Get all the cameras, the snapshots, all those out of the way,” Spoelstra said, grinning.

The teams are set to arrive in Brazil on Wednesday morning. Both plan to practice at least twice, and it’s unclear how much their paths will cross – if at all – before a reception that the clubs are expected to attend Friday night.

They play Saturday, then fly home after the game.

“Everybody’s going to hype it up and it’s going to be a big deal,” Bosh said. “But for us, it’s just another opportunity to get better. We know everything that’s surrounding the situation and it is what it is. As far as we’re concerned, this is our team, this is what we’re trying to build toward, the past is the past, we’re moving on and it’s good to get this out of the way.”

For that matter, it’s not even clear how much James – who spent four years in Miami, then opted out of his contract and kept the league guessing for weeks before ultimately announcing that he was going back to Cleveland – will play.

He’s been leery of overtaxing his body in the pre-season, and likely won’t go overboard in this game either. The flight is long, the pre-season is a grind anyway, and neither team will play this one like it’s Game 7 of a play-off series.

“It’s pretty hard to say right now what we’ll do with him, or anyone else,” Blatt said.

Here’s an oddity: When the teams get to Brazil, James isn’t even assured of being the biggest media deal.

That honour might go to Brazilian-born Anderson Varejao, the Cleveland forward who has been hounded by his teammates for a scouting report about his country. Varejao said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Cavaliers even found time for a team party and some bonding.

“He’s under the gun with questions, requests,” Blatt said. “Today he gave everyone a great suggestion. He told everyone to bring their Speedos.”

Let that be all the proof that’s needed.

It’s a work trip, but the intensity will be a tad higher come December 25.

“A basketball game,” Haslem said. “That’s the only thing I’m focused on, a basketball game.”

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

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Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

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Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

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7. Limited time periods for audits

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8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

In Rio, far from any pressure or fuss, LeBron James will meet the Heat again

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Rio de Janeiro, where he'll get to face his old team in a pre-season environment where Brazilian Cavs forward Anderson Varejao may actually be the bigger draw.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026