No need to get out-of-state license plates for the Hummer -- LeBron James is staying home.

Long-suffering Cleveland fans heard the St. Vincent-St. Mary phenom utter the words that many thought they might never hear: ``I'm excited to be a Cavalier.''

A sports town that often expects the worst finds itself with an opportunity to draft a teen-ager whom some consider the best player to enter the NBA in years. The Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday night and earned the right to select James with the first pick in the June 26 draft.

James gained national prominence as a high school junior in the 2001-02 season when the Irish began playing games across the country. This year, the school won its third state title in four years and also captured a national title awarded by the national newspaper USA Today.

``I hope I can put a lot of smiles back on the faces of the people of Cleveland,'' James said in a news conference at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Akron.