His transformation begins (and to some extent ends) amid the details of those troubled years, back when the creation of LeBron James was less a matter of fate than, in many respects, the product of pure happenstance. Long before he tattooed Chosen 1 across his back, James was in fact indistinguishable from so many other lost kids in Akron: "Bron Bron," by turns scared and listless, a lonely boy raised on welfare who sketched hundreds of logos of the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Lakers into his notebook. He had never played organized sports, and he had no clue who he was or what he wanted to become. The identity of his father was a mystery to him. During fourth grade, he moved perhaps half a dozen times and missed nearly 100 days of school. But to spend time in Akron today, and to talk to those who witnessed that year, is to realize that LeBron's version of the story does no justice to the reality of 1993 and early 1994.īack then, little about James' life was certain, and nothing about his future was preordained. It is easy now, from the pinnacle of his career, to see that time as simple allegory - one more chapter in the certain creation of a sports superstar. James' recounting of that time rarely includes specifics even his autobiography skirts the messy details. Instead, he tells them about fourth grade. He doesn't talk about winning his first Olympic gold medal or his first NBA championship or signing a contract for $110 million or being named one of the most influential people in the world.
He doesn't tell them about his senior year of high school, when he met his wife and became the No. NBA, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, East EastĮVERY FEW MONTHS, when the situation demands it, LeBron James will give a motivational speech to students about the year that changed his life.
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You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĮli Saslow, ESPN The Magazine Contributing Writer
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