LeBron James: Akron's Son
Near Akron, Ohio
On December thirtieth, nineteen eighty-four, LeBron Raymonde James was born in Akron. His mother was sixteen years old. The family moved frequently through Akron's poorer neighborhoods, sometimes staying with relatives or friends when stable housing was unavailable. When LeBron was nine, a youth football coach named Frank Walker noticed the boy's athleticism and took him in, giving him a stable home and introducing him to basketball.
He attended Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School, a small Catholic school in downtown Akron. By the time he graduated, he had led the team to three state championships in four years and had been named Ohio's Mr. Basketball three times. Sports Illustrated put him on the cover while he was still in high school, calling him The Chosen One. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him first overall in the two thousand three NBA draft.
What happened after is well documented. Four NBA championships. Multiple Most Valuable Player awards. A career that many analysts consider the greatest in the history of the sport.
Less documented, outside Akron, is what he did with the success. The LeBron James Family Foundation has remained based in Akron throughout his career. In two thousand eighteen, it partnered with the Akron public school system to open the I Promise School, a public elementary school serving children from the city's most at-risk communities. The school provides not only education but meals, bicycles, and family support services.
In recent years, a museum called LeBron James' Home Court opened in Akron, including a recreation of the apartment where he and his mother lived when he was young.
The city where he grew up is still where his foundation works. The trophy cases are in Los Angeles and Miami. The accountability is in Akron.
