Thursday night’s showdown between the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers may surpass even the Christmas Day games in terms of anticipation, so rather than wait until the holidays to release a new Nike ad featuring LeBron, the swoosh decided to drop a new one ahead of LeBron’s showdown with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo.
But of course, LeBron’s latest ad is about more than just basketball. It’s about his journey from humble beginnings in Akron, beginnings that were revisited only last weekend when James saw his son Bronny Jr. play against his alma mater St. Vincent-St. Mary’s. To close the ad, LeBron says “you know what would be really special? If there were no more humble beginnings.”
17 years ago @nike took a chance on a kid from Akron. And 17 years later this 🏀 has given me the ability to provide opportunities for my 1400 kids in Akron so that one day NOTHING is left to chance. They will KNOW that a kid from Akron is something special‼️🙏🏾 #ThekidfromAKRON🤴🏾 pic.twitter.com/WFqi6nZLc7
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 19, 2019
Of course, what James means by no more humble beginnings is the hope that children don’t have to be as poor and disadvantaged as he was growing up as a young child in Akron.
The 1,400 kids James references are part of the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I Promise program as well as the kids that are currently enrolled at the I Promise public school in Akron, Ohio. A study into how they performed last year showed major growth in test scores from their students.
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