Fans, It’s Time to Give LeBron Raymone James his Flowers

I may not be the biggest fan of LeBron James (as well as the NBA nowadays)…

But, I must give him his due as being one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Not just on the court, but off the court as well. Plus, last week, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the top scorer in NBA History.

In addition to being a four-time NBA World Champion, four-time Regular-Season and Finals MVP, and a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, James is also a family man, active in the community by building an “I Promise” School for underprivileged youth and opening a Community Hub with job-training opportunities, financial literacy and a recreation center, among various things.

He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Savannah, and both of them are actively involved in the lives of their children. In fact, he has aspirations of playing with his son named Bronny James, who is one of the top recruits for the 2023 High School class, once he enters the NBA. In addition to Bronny, the James family has another son named Bryce and a daughter named Zhuri. You can add to the fact that James is also a great husband to Savannah, having been married to her since 2013. After games, James ensures his wife is safe and always looks after her.

In an era where plenty of athletes do not hold themselves to higher standards on social media, you never hear James be involved in any off-court drama such as spousal abuse, drug problems, or other brushes with the law. James holds a positive image in such a critical time in this world. He is an excellent role model for the youth to look up to. Lebron James is also very active in social justice causes – especially those that affect the black community, such as Police Brutality and the National Anthem protests, which were led by former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016. James has a reputation of giving back to organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and he also donated over $2 billion to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to support an exhibit on Muhammad Ali.

Anyways, I understand that James will never be as good as the greats Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and others, and yes, just like many fans, I’m tired of his ring-chasing and trying to pick teams, as if he’s General Manager. However, in his 20-year career, he has definitely lived up to the hype – which has surrounded him since his High School days at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio during the early 2000s, when he started to gain notoriety by being on covers of SLAM Magazine and Sports Illustrated, as well as having some of his games televised on ESPN during his Senior Year.

We will never have another athlete who still plays well, despite his advancing age, and is still putting up stats and numbers this late in his career. LeBron James gets an excessive amount of hate, and some of it is undeserved. He has lived up to expectations by winning Rookie of the Year in 2003-04, four NBA Championships (2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers), two Olympic Gold Medals with Team USA (2008 and 2012) and a member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team.

James deserves credit for changing the way the free agency was made. While 2010’s “The Decision” received plenty of backlashes, it ushered in a new era where players can collide and join each other on a team or choose the best team for them to get a better chance of winning a championship.

So, let’s give LeBron his due while he’s still here because we will miss him once he retires from basketball.