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Blessed with unparalleled abilities, indefatigable perfectionist, predominantly activist: Lebron James he went from a tough childhood to the top of the league scoring nba, in a unique journey that he wants to extend until he is crowned the best player of all time.
During his twenty-year career, ‘King James’ has been a sweeping force on the NBA courts, hoarding titles, awards and statistics insatiably. With the 38 points he reached this Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the forward raised his record to 38,390 points, above the 38,387 accumulated by the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
At 38, LeBron has the third best average of his career this season (30.2 points), a reflection of extraordinary longevity with which he has exploited the enormous potential he already showed in high school, when he was dubbed “The Chosen One.” “by Sports Illustrated.
Straight to the NBA without stopping at the university, the forward has a record of four championships, four season MVP awards and another four from the Finals, 19 All-Star elections and two Olympic gold medals. But before he basked in glory, there were many hardships for LeBron Raymone James, born on December 30, 1984 to a teenage single mother, Gloria, and an absentee father with a criminal record.
“I come from the poor neighborhoods, I saw drugs, guns, murders,” James explained about his childhood in Akron, Ohio, where he and Gloria moved up to seven times in one year.
The change of LeBron James to boost his career
James’ fate changed when he was discovered by Frank Walker, a youth football coach, who directed him towards basketball and convinced his mother to move the young man in with the Walker family for a while.
At just 12 years old, LeBron was already attracting the attention of high school scouts, impressed by his physical power and intelligence on the court. He opted for St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, a predominantly white school, instead of John Buchtel High School, where a cheerleader, Savannah Brinson, who became his wife and mother of his three children, attended.
The choice kept James close to friends like Maverick Carter, his current partner in projects ranging from movies to sports team ownership that, added to James’ salary and endorsement income, made him the first working billionaire in the league. nba.
Upon entering the NBA, in 2003, he was the youngest draft number one in history. His first destination was the Cleveland Cavaliers, 50 km away from Akron, and in his debut season he was already the best on the team in scoring, steals and minutes played.
LeBron James (center), with the Cavaliers.
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However, his first two appearances in the Finals led to great disappointments. The first was in 2007 with the modest Cavaliers and the second in 2011 with the luxurious Miami Heat, the franchise he had chosen to found a dynasty with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
In Miami he reached his first two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 but after his fourth and last straight appearance in the Finals, ended with a painful defeat against the Spurs, he took on a bigger and more personal challenge.
LeBron James celebrates the NBA title with the Miami Heat.
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LeBron returned to the Cavaliers and led them to another four consecutive Finals, all against the Golden State Warriors. In three of them they were defeated but in 2016 they achieved a victory never seen in the NBA, coming back from 1-3 against in the series. James thus handed the city its first NBA title and the first in all professional sports since 1964.
The stratospheric block he placed on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 remains an iconic image of his career. “I thought he was the best player people had ever seen,” James later confessed, reigniting the debate over whether he or Michael Jordan deserve that status.
Off the slopes, James is also a protagonist as a social actor in his country, following in the wake of other myths such as Bill Russell or Abdul-Jabbar himself.
The activist side of LeBron James
Very active on social networks (he has 144 million followers on Instagram), the forward has denounced racial injustices, supported the “Black Lives Matter” movement and criticized donald trump as president, ignoring those who ask him in a bad way to stick only to his work.
He also founded a school in Akron, financed aid programs and in 2020 created an association to facilitate the vote of humble sectors of the African-American community.
That same year, James won his fourth NBA championship with the Lakers. It was proof that his 2018 move to Los Angeles was not early retirement, even though Hollywood offered him the lead role in “Space Jam 2,” 25 years after Jordan brought the original to life.
Jordan, and his full six wins in each Final, continues to be the great inspiration for LeBron, who is pursuing another unique dream: playing with his son Bronny. “While I’m on the court, I’m going to try to be the best player of all time,” he warned. “And also the best man and the best father. All in the same way.”
SPORTS
with AFP
