Even though he's a multi-millionaire at the top of his game, life hasn't been all unicorns
and rainbows for LeBron James.
Despite his success, he's had his fair share of hardships.
From his childhood to the passing of a close friend, here's the tragic real-life story
of LeBron James.
Today, LeBron James is a superstar and a brand, but the situation was very different back
when he was in school.
James was already a total prodigy and possibly the most hyped high school basketball player
ever.
"How good is LeBron James?"
"Well simply put, Dan, LeBron James is the best high school basketball player I have
ever seen."
However, his early career narrative was still very much one of rags to riches.
This is because his childhood was, to put it mildly, difficult.
James' father, Anthony McClelland, had a long criminal record and wasn't really present
in his child's life.
As a result, his mother, Gloria, had to look after James and two other kids in difficult
conditions.
She said of the situation:
"I wouldn't wish some of the stuff we went through on anyone...Not on my worst enemy."
Young LeBron's home front certainly seems to have gone through some pretty turbulent
times.
For instance, he's said that while growing up, he witnessed killings, and he's mentioned
that his family once had to move houses no less than six times in just one year, which
sounds like an absolute nightmare.
It's usually always awkward when someone tries to come up with a nickname for themselves
- even other legendary players.
Such was the case with LeBron James, who CBS News tells us indeed experimented with a self-imposed
nickname in his youth.
Back in his high school years, when the hype really started to catch on, he started referring
to himself as -
"the Chosen One."
In all fairness, LeBron now thinks that's just as awful as you probably do.
In 2009, he commented on the moniker in his book, Shooting Stars, while also pointing
out that the world was offering him ample opportunities to start getting a little big-headed.
"I was arrogant, dubbing myself 'the Chosen One...In hindsight, I should have kept quiet,
but I also was what I was, a teenager where every reporter in the world seemed to be rushing
toward me at once."
Fair point.
Besides, these days he has tons of better nicknames.
Imagine being a teenager who suddenly becomes one of the most famous people in the world.
Combine this with future prospects that are filled with even more celebrity, downright
ridiculous amounts of money, and constant adulation from the media and public alike.
Oh, and you're also six foot eight and built like a Greek god.
Do you think this would go to your head?
As CBS News tells us, LeBron James freely admits that it did.
For a while, the constant hype and attention turned him into a self-admitted jerk.
To be fair, he was 17 years old, had just appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated,
and everyone was buzzing around him and his high school teammates, so it makes a lot of
sense that he might start becoming an unlikable guy.
In his book, Shooting Stars, James paints a grim picture of the era, saying,
"We had become big-headed jerks, me in particular, and we are to blame for that, but so are adults
who treated us that way and then sat back and smugly watched the self-destruction."
LeBron James' star was already shining bright in high school as the top player in the country.
Unfortunately, his senior year, 2003, became a lot more chaotic than anyone could have
foreseen, thanks to some unwise decisions regarding gifts.
That year saw young LeBron in hot water because he accepted a luxurious Hummer as a present,
which some suspected to violate Ohio's state amateur bylaws.
However, it turned out that the vehicle was actually a gift from James' mother, Gloria,
and a two-week investigation ultimately cleared his name.
Still, his season later ended prematurely because, mere days after the Hummer investigation
was finalized, it turned out he'd also accepted some sports jerseys as a gift.
The problem with the whole thing is that it means he capitalized on his athletic ability,
and he was therefore technically ineligible as an amateur.
After some legal wrangling, James ended up serving a two game suspension and then regained
his eligibility - his senior year ended with a third state title in 4 years.
As CBS News reports, James looks back to these days with some bile.
He compares the whole jersey situation to a witch hunt led by the Ohio High School Athletic
Association commissioner, and he appears to remain quite bitter about the Hummer investigation
and the way the media treated his mother because of it.
After all, his mom had dared to borrow some money and buy an expensive birthday present
for her virtually-guaranteed future superstar son while they were still receiving rental
assistance.
In 2010, LeBron James was facing a decision.
As NBA Dot Com tells us, the superstar player had decided to leave his hometown Cleveland
Cavaliers in favor of the Miami Heat, and he had to figure out how to notify everyone.
Unfortunately, he chose to do so with an ESPN special program called The Decision.
"This fall - this is very tough - this fall I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach and
join the Miami Heat."
Bleacher Report notes that it backfired immensely, especially because he didn't notify his old
team until moments before the show started.
Fans thought they had been deceived with the possibility of him staying, the Cleveland
Cavaliers felt rightly insulted, and tons of people thought The Decision was James'
own idea and a sign that his ego had fallen off the deep end.
"How arrogant to get on national TV and slap the city and the team that's supported you
since you've been in high school straight in the face like that."
In fact, even James himself didn't seem to enjoy the special, looking uncomfortable and
embarrassed throughout the whole event.
James' discomfort may be explained by the fact that The Decision wasn't even his idea.
The concept was originally pitched by journalist Jim Gray, and James' management approved it
because they felt it was a cool way to raise some money for charity.
They weren't wrong, as ESPN ended up donating all the advertising revenue from The Decision
to charitable causes, and Nike matched the sum for good measure.
Unfortunately, this didn't earn too much goodwill for King James, and the whole debacle was
an unmitigated PR disaster for him.
You might've heard that in 2019, the NBA was in hot water over the Hong Kong protests.
As The Daily Beast reports, this started when the Houston Rockets manager Daryl Morey sided
with Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters on Twitter, only for Chinese sponsors to voice
their concerns.
As a result, Morey deleted his supportive tweet and apologized.
LeBron James was happy to add fuel to the fire, before the NBA shut down the discussion
of the issue.
When asked whether Morey should be punished over his public show of support, James made
it clear he was highly critical of the Rockets manager's show of love to the protesters,
saying,
"Yes, we do have freedom of speech.
But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not
thinking about others, when you only think about yourself."
He later doubled down on his view, saying that Morey's comments could've harmed many
people in a lot of ways.
"So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically and emotionally,
spiritually."
It's not exactly a coincidence that the Hong Kong protesters were soon burning and stomping
on James' basketball jerseys on the streets.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where a black athlete may become a target of unsavory,
racially-motivated attention, and even LeBron James isn't immune to the occasional racist
attack.
As CBS Sports tells us, one of the more visible attacks against him happened in 2017, when
his home was vandalized with a racial slur just ahead of the NBA Finals.
James took the racist vandalism incident in stride and turned it into a powerful speech
about the everyday hate against African-Americans.
In 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that President Donald Trump himself was accused
of racist remarks against James.
The basketball star had been quite vocal of the President's racial insensitivity issues,
and he repeated these views in an interview with Don Lemon.
"What would you say to the president if he was sitting right here?"
"I would never sit across from him."
"You would never.
You don't wanna talk to him?"
"Nah.
I'd sit across from Barack though."
Trump responded by tweeting,
"LeBron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon.
He made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do.
I like Mike!"
LeBron James' mother, Gloria James, has been known to ruffle the occasional law enforcement
feather.
According to the Miami Herald, she's been arrested on two occasions.
In 2006, she was picked up in Ohio and had to face charges for driving while intoxicated.
In 2011, she had another alcohol-and-automobiles run-in with the law when she allegedly assaulted
a Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel parking attendant for not being quick enough getting
her car.
She was promptly arrested, and as several witnesses supported the parking attendant's
account, and Gloria James' breath reportedly smelled of alcohol, she was charged with simple
battery and disorderly intoxication.
LeBron James' name is often mentioned when people question who is the greatest to ever
play the game.
However, his name is also pretty much guaranteed to be in contention when it comes to another,
far less pleasing title:
"the most hated man in basketball."
This isn't just the opinion of some bitter Facebook group, either.
The media has also granted him the moniker at various stages of his career.
"The biggest problem with the Los Angeles Lakers is LeBron James."
In 2011, ABC News specifically referred to James as basketball's most hated player.
In 2012, it was Bleacher Report's turn to give him the title.
His Decision debacle that saw him leave his Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat is
usually the stated reason for the hate, along with his perceived inability to carry the
load without super talented teammates to rely on.
It looks like the hate's not about to die, either.
As recently as 2019, Essentially Sports wrote that according to Twitter data, it was extremely
clear who the platform's users thought was the most hated man in basketball.
Let's just say that the answer won't exactly shock you.
James has occasionally done things that justify fan hate.
"LeBron James has filed to trademark the term TACO TUESDAY - I don't know if you have to
say it that way but I'm just guessing."
However, most of the time he's merely been doing his thing.
So perhaps the reason his reputation seems to be permanently in the red for many people
is just a byproduct of his status as arguably the best current player in the game.
On January 26, 2020, basketball lost one if it's all-time greats when Kobe Bryant perished
in a terrible helicopter accident in Calabasas, California.
Bryant and LeBron James knew each other quite well, and Bleacher Report notes that they
often fought side by side for Olympic glory.
Both men were part of the gold medal-winning Team USA for the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
James learned of Bryant's untimely demise at a time when the two men's fates were yet
again intertwined.
Just days before the incident, he'd surpassed Bryant on the NBA all-time scoring list, and
the "Black Mamba" had warmly congratulated James with what would turn out to be his final
social media post.
Eerily, the two men talked on the phone just hours before the helicopter crash.
James learned of Bryant's fate while flying to a game, and reports say the news impacted
him greatly.
Several people were seen consoling him after the plane landed.
He eventually addressed Bryant's death on Instagram, writing that he never would have
imagined that their talk that morning would be their last conversation.
He also promised to keep Bryant's legacy alive by pushing both himself and the Lakers to
be the very best they can be.
"To continue his legacy not only for this year, but for as long as we can play the game
of basketball that we love because that's what Kobe Bryant would want."
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