I worked with Triumph Books to publish “Cleveland Is King” in 2016 after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship. This book went on to make the New York Times Best-Sellers list. Below is an excerpt from the player profile on LeBron James on page 50 of that book.
“Cleveland Is King” – published in 2016:
In a small college gym located in Teaneck, New Jersey, the No. 1 overall player in America offered a series of crossover dribbles before pulling up to bury a midrange jumper during the early minutes of the first half. With the swagger of New York City dangling from his outstretched shooting hand, Lenny Cooke held his release as the crowd gathered inside the Adidas ABCD camp erupted in applause. The marquee event’s defending MVP shuffled back down the court like a conquering hero, while his young defender from somewhere in Ohio dusted off a shot that had just dotted his eye.
At that moment, in July of 2001, a sixteen-year-old named LeBron James could’ve gone one of two ways. His opponent, Cooke, was the best prospect produced by the New York City playgrounds in over a decade. He was a superstar already; a can’t-miss talent who was simply biding his time before the NBA came calling. James, meanwhile, was from the basketball equivalent of nowhere, representing a city named Akron known more for its tires than its talent. If he didn’t beat the kid from New York that day, nobody would’ve blamed him. But a young LeBron refused to back down.
Over the next several minutes, James would put not only himself, but also his city on the national map for good. He’d respond to Cooke’s early offense by eventually outscoring him 21-9 in an individual duel as the game entered its final possession. Trailing by two points, while being guarded by Cooke, LeBron emerged from the backcourt dribbling down the right side of the floor. He’d lift off from just beyond the three-point line, letting a shot go as the buzzer expired that found nothing but the bottom of the net. The long-range bomb would propel James past Cooke, and he’d return to Ohio with the title of best player in America for the very first time.
Thirteen July’s later, when James returned from the Miami Heat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he reminded the audience gathered outside an event celebrating his signing that he was still just a kid from Akron. Standing then, in 2014, as a corporate mega-brand worth billions, and arguably the most popular athlete in the world, it was hard for most observers to grasp the concept. When he added that he wasn’t supposed to be here, we thought of a 6-8 frame and Einstein-level basketball IQ that inspired some to collectively snicker in response. But the truth is, Lenny Cooke was once where LeBron James wanted to be. And unlike the series of tragic mistakes that Cooke would make to derail a promising professional career before it ever started, James is the kid who did everything right.
Standing now in the wake of his greatest professional conquest, it’s important we remember where it is that LeBron came from even if we believe we never forgot. Like Cooke, and thousands of other talented young prospects before him, James could’ve been a statistic. The son of a poor, single mother on welfare, he beat the odds. He not only identified people who had his best interest at heart, but he also listened and acted upon their advice. Instead of acquiring NBA fortunes only to waste it away on extravagance, he invested his earnings, put his team and community in a position to succeed, and is on his way to joining a class of billionaires upon retirement. And along that path to greatness, both on and off the floor, he accepted a challenge for the same community he first put on the national map at ABCD camp to deliver a moment of championship glory that had eluded the area for 52 years.
Down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors, James dusted himself off from a series of jumpers that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson used to dot his eye just like the best player in America once did 15 years earlier. At that moment, LeBron and his Cavaliers could’ve gone one of two ways. But when he got up, he’d deliver a basketball championship to a city that never experienced one before. LeBron James the person did that, as much as LeBron James the player, and we owe it to that kid from Akron to always remember as much.
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