LeBron

Product Information

This book goes into detail about LeBron's life from his childhood up to early 2023. It not only discusses his journey to the NBA and his career, but also his experiences off the court. We learn about his savviness, his entrepreneurship, and activism - especially with how he has spoken out against injustice and his efforts to advocate for change (as well as his community work). We also learn about his impact on player empowerment and on the league itself. I was intrigued throughout as I read the book. While I did know some of the information covered in the book, I also learned a lot.

How would you handle being born to a single mother in Akron bouncing from apartment to apartment and then bursting onto the sports scene as one of the best basketball players in sports history? Chilling . . . Exhaustively researched . . . The authors present Woods as a man ‘both blessed and cursed’ by his otherworldly ability to separate his off-the-course problems from his performance on it. Tiger Woods is a fascinating analysis of the former, but for golf fans—and probably for Woods himself—his worth will still be judged by the latter. . . . What Benedict and Keteyian do better than in any biography I’ve read about Woods is detail the human costs of this machine-like focus.” Reporter: LeBron, what would you say are the three words you'd use to describe yourself and why those three words? The book in general has a very informal tone; it gave me, the reader, alot of inspiring information of my role model, Lebron James. This book made me very motivated into making my game better, and to follow in Lebrons footsteps.Lebron James as presented in this biography is a kid from a troubled family situation who was blessed not only with exceptional athletic talent but also a series of key mentors and a mother who sacrificed an incredible amount personally for him to have the best opportunities. He then built on these opportunities every chance he got not only to meet his goals as a player but his goals as a husband as a dad to provide for his family. Plus, as an NBA fan and someone who loves learning basketball history, I enjoyed reading about his career. It was great reliving the various playoff series and Benedict does a nice job in describing aspects of the games in vivid detail. Benedict also gives great information about the context behind "The Decision", James' return to Cleveland, and his experiences on the Cavs, Heat, and Lakers. However, this is no clip job. Benedict writes scenes that make clear the extent of his primary reporting, putting the reader, to paraphrase a popular Broadway musical, in the room where it happens. You can practically see the goop in Miami Heat president Pat Riley’s hair as he seethes in resentment when James announces his departure from South Beach to return to Cleveland. “LeBron” isn’t just great sportswriting, it’s also vivid narrative journalism.

But Jeff Benedict shows a side of James that I don't think many fans see. There's the insecurities of being the best, his openness to ideas, his devotion to family and friends and his ability to rise above just basketball and become a corporate entity himself.

Table of Contents

I should say up front: I’m a diehard LeBron James fan to the point of irrationally defending him no matter what. I’ve rooted for him since he came in the league and loved his game ever since. And being a big fan, I’ve consumed thousands of words on his life and career. The high-caliber professionals supporting him remain mostly nameless and the acheivements just roll in. Lebron remains the smiley, generous person that no one knew when he was just a child. LeBron James: Of course I have come across a couple, but my ultimate rival is Stephen Curry. There is nobody more talented and as cool blooded than him. “Swish” is the sound of the net when Steph Curry scores, “Roar” is the sound of the Golden State Warriors fans jumping up and down screaming from the top of their lungs in happiness. He has beaten me a total of three times in the NBA finals which for me makes him a rival. In my opinion a rival is someone who is talented and has bested you in something which makes you have an urge to beat them everytime you play each other. That is how I feel everytime I match up with Steph Curry.

Lakers’ LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, tallying 38 points to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s mark in a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lebron said, “Look, I don’t want this to be about my acrobatics or my incredible dunks. The whole point of this book is that I had this supporting cast that only had an impact on the basketball court but on my life.”Reporter: LeBron, name three things you consider yourself to be good at, and three things you consider yourself to be bad at. The artwork was also beautiful. The children featured were diverse, majority BIPOC, and were a great display of what most kids see regularly in public schools. I also loved the amount of all-girl sports pictures there were. Girl power! There was an innate maturity to him. It exhibited itself, according to LeBron, very early in his life. He moved constantly. Many kids would hate that, and would protest. You also have a kid who didn’t have a father. But his attitude was: this is life and you roll with the punches. I think he had a very mature perspective very early in his life and career, and that gives him the ability to put things into a narrative perspective. So I wouldn’t say I know better than Jeff Benedict because I definitely don’t. I don’t know anything about LeBron’s personal life save that he’s a proud husband and father. But I was also disappointed to find that in reading this, I learned little more. I hadn’t read much about his time growing up in Akron; I knew it wasn’t easy but Benedict gives about as full of a picture as possible. Beyond that…meh. Just a whole lot of meh. This is one of those great meaningful picture story books that you hope your children will take to heart and internalize its teachings.

This was a well-written, easy-to-read biography about LeBron James. I enjoyed revisiting some of my childhood memories and learning more about parts of his career I didn’t know. LeBron James: I feel as though I am continuously surrounded with people that are loving, caring, trustworthy, and hard working. These people are my family, teammates, coaches, staff, and friends. They are the ones that make my life better than it already is by just being who they are. I am only around positivity which is always a warm feeling to have and one that I love.LeBron James: If I were in desperate need of help I would turn to my wonderful wife who is constantly supportive and talks me through my problems. She has always been there for me since day one standing beside me when I am at my highs and lows. Savannah plays a massive role in my life and is all I could ask for in a wife. Reporter: Would you tell me one thing about yourself that most people don't know and why don't they know it? There are some ironic limitations in the format of the book centered on how to look at such a storied and lengthy career that isn't even finished. There is a missing element of hindsight due to the fact that we don't even know how his professional career will end and what other great things he will accomplish. This feels like a half biography at this point - extremely impressive especially with all he has already done - but it doesn't do his story justice as readers get cut off at his current age of 38 (unavoidable since they wanted to publish now but leaves a feeling that this will need to be updated if it ever wants to be considered a "complete" story of LeBron later on).