LeBron James has come a long way from his start as a baller in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. 16 years after being drafted first by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, he has become of the NBA’s greatest players.
His name and brand stretch far and wide as his impact and popularity go way beyond just the sport of basketball.
Just recently, upon finishing his role in the highly anticipated “Space Jam” sequel, he gave a heartwarming speech tracing back to his origins in Akron.
(via TMZ)
“I’m gonna be honest completely with you guys — when I found out about the project, I was like it’s ‘Space Jam’! It’s a movie that I grew up watching,” he stated. “People in the movie that I idolize. I was like absolutely, I gotta do it. There’s no way I can turn down ‘Space Jam’!”
“I’m just a small kid from Akron, Ohio — a very small town outside of Cleveland. From a single-parent household, I’m the only child, my mother had absolutely nothing. She was walking around high school when she was 16 years old and she was pregnant with me as a high school sophomore. So I’m really not supposed to be here.
“Growing up in the inner city, as an African-American kid, there’s no way you’re supposed to f*cking make it out. And, the fact that I’m who I am as an African-American adult now with 3 kids of my own, and I made it out of the situations that I was in. This sh*t is like extra credit for me man.”
Indeed, James has come a long way. And while his expertise at the game of basketball opened the door, it was hard work, determination, and a passion for the game that made him so great.
We don’t yet know when Space Jam will release, or how good the film will actually be. But for the first guy to star in the project since MJ, it’s clear that LeBron has blazed quite a legacy for himself.
It’ll be interesting to see how far it will go in the years to come.
