LeBron James

LeBron 'not disappointed' by Manziel's start: 'I'm a friend that supports'

Published Dec. 15, 2014 2:05 p.m. ET

foxsports

Johnny Manziel still has at least one fan in Cleveland after his nightmare of a starting debut Sunday.

Johnny Football failed to live up to the hype against the Cincinnati Bengals, completing just 10 passes for 80 yards while throwing two interceptions in the Browns' 30-0 blowout loss. It was a miserable showing, but LeBron James isn't losing faith in the rookie quarterback.

"I'm not disappointed. I'm a friend that supports, and it's only one game," James said Monday after the Cavaliers' morning shootaround, per Cleveland.com.

James, who watched the game in a suite with Manziel's agents and business partners, said how Manziel responds to the shaky performance is more important than the one game.

"I know more than anybody how the game goes and how the game works, so he's worked very hard and you can't put all that pressure or everything that happened on just one game," James continued. "That's what being a professional's all about, you're going to have mistakes, and how you come back from them is a measure of who you are."

For the record, in his NBA debut, James scored 25 points while adding nine assists and six rebounds against the Sacramento Kings back in 2003.

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