The Guide to LeBron James. The Past. The Present. The Future (Bronny James).

Edition #60

HEADLINES

(Can’t link anything today. Sorry.)

Warriors lose by 60 points.

Clark passed Maravich for a D1 scoring record

Oilers get 2 goals in 23 seconds

Jalen Brunson escapes with bruised knee

Nadal has no issues with his hip but loses to Alcaraz.

CHECK MY NOTES OUT LATER FOR THE FULL HEADLINE LIST.

Intro:

Dreams. Dreams. Dreams.

As kids, and especially kids who LOVE sports, you want to be in the spotlight. You want to be the featured player. That’s what people said in, I don’t know, 1980?

Nowadays? Kids still wanna be the featured player. The franchise player.

But instead of putting it that way, they say.

I wanna be LeBron James.

Every single person in the United States of America. Heck, even abroad knows this guy. From Canada to Brazil to France to Egypt to India to Australia. This guy is fricking famous.

Let’s look back on his career, what he’s doing now, and his future. Bronny James. And even if you think you know about LeBron, we got a few things you MUST KNOW.

---

Hey all! We hit 100 subscribers on Friday! Thank you so much for being part of the Sports Square family!

Continue sharing Sports Square with your friends! Word of mouth is the only thing that’s going to get us even farther!

---

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James Sr. Yeah. That’s his full name.

Well, here’s a bit of info for the non-US folks. He plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. His nickname is King James. He has competed in 10 NBA Finals (with eight consecutive appearances from 2011 to 2018). You read that right. 8 CONSECUTIVE. Out of that, he’s won four NBA championships. He also has 2 gold medals playing for the US Olympic team and the FIRST EVER NBA CUP.

All right. Let’s actually start this article.

The Past:

James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio.

His mother, Gloria Marie James, was only 16 years old at the time of his birth.

His father? Name = Anthony McClelland. He had an extensive criminal record and was not involved in LeBron’s life.

Gloria couldn’t find a sustaining job, resulting in the family moving from apartment to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron. This resulted in James living with Frank Walker. A youth football coach who introduced James to basketball.

James and a group of friends chose to attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, a private Catholic school with mostly white students, which stirred local controversy. Why? James is black.

LeBron James had a successful high school basketball career, averaging impressive stats and winning numerous awards. He was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team for three consecutive years. He also won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award twice. However, he was involved in several controversies, including accepting a car and jerseys as gifts, resulting in him being stripped of his high school sports eligibility.

Hey and guess what. LeBron was also a football player!

James played wide receiver for St. Vincent-St. Mary's football team. It's cool that some Division I programs, including Notre Dame, even recruited him. He was so good that he was named first-team all-state at the end of his second year, and as a junior, he helped lead the Fighting Irish to the state semifinals. Unfortunately, he couldn't play during his senior year due to a wrist injury he sustained during an AAU basketball game. Despite this, there are many sports analysts, football critics, high school coaches, and former and current players who believe that James could have played in the National Football League!

Imagine this. LeBron James, but in the NFL setting records.

Career Timeline:

2003-2004: LeBron James was selected with the first pick in the NBA Draft. He set an NBA record for the most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut performance. He averaged at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game as a rookie, which resulted in him winning Cleveland’s first Rookie of the Year award. Did not make the playoffs.

2004-2005: James earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection. On March 20, James scored 56 points against the Toronto Raptors, setting, at that time, Cleveland's new single-game points record.

2005-2006: Won NBA All-Star Game MVP. He averaged 31.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, and finished 2nd in MVP voting to Steve Nash. Yeah. Steve Nash. The Cavs went to the playoffs and LeBron scored a triple-double in postseason debut. Then he made two game-winning shots. They defeat the Wizards in Round 1 before losing badly to the Pistons in Round 2.

2006-2007: LeBron's performance declined, but they still went to the playoffs and as the East’s 2nd seed. They came to the Eastern Conference Finals, where LeBron’s performance? Ranked 4th in postseason history as of 2012. James had 48 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, scoring 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the game-winning layup with two seconds left, in a 109–107 double-overtime victory against the Pistons. Play-by-play announcer Marv Albert called the performance "one of the greatest moments in postseason history" and Steve Kerr described it as “Jordan-esque”. The Cavs went on to win their first Eastern Conference Championship, before... Getting sweeped by the San Antonio Spurs. LeBron did pretty bad in the Finals.

2007-2008: Got a scoring title. #1 on Cavs all-time scoring list. Cleveland's record fell. They beat the Wizards in the first round but lost to the eventual-champion Celtics in the second round after a shootout game where LeBron had 45 and Paul Pierce had 42.

2008-2009: LeBron James had an outstanding 2008-2009 NBA season, finishing second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting and making his first NBA All-Defensive Team. He led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a franchise record of 66-16 with final averages of 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game, earning his first MVP award. On the playoffs, James scored 49 points on 66 percent shooting in Game 1 against the Orlando Magic, but the Cavaliers lost the series in six games. James finished the postseason with a career playoff-high 35.3 points per game, averaging 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8 assists per game in the series.

2009-2010: Forced into temporary Point Guard Role. He averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1 block per game on 50 percent shooting. That = another MVP award. They won in the first round against the Bulls but then lost in the second round versus the Celtics. That’s where the Cavaliers lost by their worst number in franchise history.

2010-2011: James became a free agent. Many teams contacted him. The Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and the Cavaliers. He chose the Heat. The day before this, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade joined the Heat. He received much scrutiny from, not only fans, but famous players. The Heat started off slow. When James played the Cavaliers, he was booed every time he touched the ball, but got 38 points. James found himself against the Celtics in the conference semis again. They won, which led to an eventual NBA finals birth. The Heat lost.

2011-2012: Miami began the year 18-6. James put up another MVP season. They made the playoffs easily. In the second round of the playoffs, they were trailing 2-1. Miami lost Bosh. Miami won. In the next round, against elimination, James put on a SHOW. 45 points and 15 rebounds. Miami won game 7 and advanced to the NBA finals against the budding Oklahoma City Thunder. That team contains… Kevin Durant. In game 4, LeBron hit an important shot to give the Heat the lead. In game 5? The Heat took the series. LeBron had a triple-double. He won NBA Finals MVP.

2012-2013: Heat had a 27 game winning streak (4th longest in NBA history). James took MVP. His season averages were 26.8 points, 8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game on 56.5 percent shooting. The conference finals were just like the Cleveland days. He had no supporting cast, and the load was huge for LeBron. The Heat still made the Finals and played the Spurs. LeBron had two triple-doubles and, in game 7, scored the most points in an NBA final. 37. He was named finals MVP for a second-straight season. Yes. They won.

2013-2014: This Heat team used 20 different starting lineups. They made it all the way to the Finals again only to face the Spurs again, who beat them in 5 games. No three-peat for them.

2014-2018: With the Cavaliers. One more time. In the 2014-2015 season, LeBron James missed a few games. He played 69 games, which was a career-low for him. They played the Golden State Warriors in the finale. For most of the finals, Irving and Love did not play. Because of injury. The Cavs lost. The next year, they came back to the NBA Finals again. Facing the 73-win Warriors team. The Cavs were down 3-1. They came back to take the series. The year after that, they were back to the NBA finals AGAIN. Guess who they played? The Warriors. AGAIN. This time? The Warriors had Kevin Durant. The Cavs lost in 5 games. In James’s final year with the Cavs? They’re back in the NBA finals, playing the Warriors again. Btw, the Cavs have no more Kyrie. LeBron lost in 4 games even though he averaged 34 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 10 assists per game.

(From now on, I think we know what happens. I will start talking a bit broad and shorter.)

2018-2019: LeBron had many injuries, and he missed the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

2019-2020: The Lakers hired Frank Vogel and LeBron won his 4th NBA Championship. Kobe Bryant died. Covid-19 was there.

2020-2021: Made the finals again, but lost against the Suns.

2021-2022: He was in the 10K-10K-10K club.

2022-2023: He breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record in scoring, all-star appearances. LeBron got swept by the Denver Nuggets (eventual champion) in the playoffs.

March 2nd, 2024: LeBron starts his own club. He hits 40K points.

This is what he said after.

“To be able to accomplish things with the greatest players who have ever played in this league, the NBA, has been a dream of mine. To hit feats and have milestones throughout my career, they all mean something to me,” LeBron said of his achievement. 

“Obviously you have to play the game quite a while, and have some good luck as far as injuries and that nature,” said LeBron when asked if he thinks anybody will break his record. “You have to take care of your body … and then you have to be productive as well. You can’t sit here and say who would it be … but records are always meant to be broken. You can never say never for any record.”

“I can't sit here and say (it doesn't mean anything),” said LeBron. “Of course, no one has ever done it. For me to be in this position at this point and time in my career, I think it's pretty cool. Is it at the top of my, you know, things I've done in my career? No. But does it mean something? Of course, absolutely.” 

The Future:

Bronny James. Bryce James. The future(s) of the James family.

I read this amazing article in the Miami Herald at the time of writing this article. The overshadow LeBron James and Tiger Woods have left their children.

Is Bronny James going to be a bust? Like I said before, he is an NBA-caliber player, specifically on defense.  If he gets a little more experience, I could see him carving out a nice niche in the league. But, for sure, he isn't the prospect LeBron was. Bryce is. His physicality. Play style. He plays more like his dad than Bronny does, for sure. 

A report came out about 2 days ago. It was that Bronny James was only going to accept offers from teams who have an interest in him. What does this mean?

Lakers = lock.

Bryce? Bryce is going to be the next LeBron. He’s going to be BETTER than LeBron. Bronny’s the first child. Bronny’s the test run. Bryce is the complete product. The one you want to sell to your customers. In this case, the greatest basketball player of all time.

Conclusion

That’s it for this one. Hope you found some helpful info. Be sure to like this post and if you haven’t already, subscribed!

LeBron is going to retire soon. Yes. The greatest player in NBA history is going to do that. In the meanwhile, appreciate his play. Congratulate him. I’m no LeBron fan. I hate him. He wins too much and I would any day say that Steph’s better than him.

But, this guy? He’s amazing. He’s a role model. Heck for all you politics and finance lovers, he’s a businessman.

Just reminding you all:

Sports Quote

I’ve been missing the past few days. That’s my bad. Here are three amazing Sports Quotes.

“What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” —Andre Agassi

“You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.” —J. Askenberg

“Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it’s never really over until the whistle blows.” —Alex Morgan

Adiós! Pase un buen día. (Idk. I’ve been learning Spanish. Give me a break.)