I promise, this is the real story of how LeBron James is saving Akron
AKRON, Ohio — Lots of stories have been written about LeBron James and Cleveland.
About how, as a Cavalier, he came through for a city that had long ago soured on the possibility of winning a championship. And more recently, about how he’s still loved in The Land, despite decamping for life in Los Angeles as a Laker.
But I want to tell you a different story, this one about LeBron James and Akron.
About how, in addition to being the biggest booster of this proud but struggling city of roughly 200,000 people, he also is setting himself up to be its biggest savior — far more than most people realize.
let’s begin at the beginning, at a gritty little basketball court 35 miles from the glitz of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
While fans gathering for Sunday’s NBA All-Star game will undoubtedly see themselves as welcoming a wayward James “home,” it’s this court in west Akron that he never really left.
A person with an umbrella walks past the LeBron James “Space Jam” mural.
A LeBron James “Space Jam” mural in Akron, Ohio. The mural was painted by Kent State University art student Chardae Slater. (Madeleine Hordinski / For The Times)
Tucked away in a tree-filled neighborhood park, it’s not on any official or unofficial sightseeing tour. Locals, for the most part, are only ones who know and care about it. In fact, it’s rather ugly.
The last time I saw it, during a trip home to northeast Ohio last summer, the hoops were bare of nets. The rose-colored playing surface was dull and chipped, probably as much from wear and tear as sun and snow. Empty bottles, discarded surgical masks, the butts of menthol cigarettes and the wrappers from corner-store cigars lined the bleachers.
The only sign of life was a group of men at a nearby picnic table, hooting and hollering in the eat-the-air humidity, while playing a spirited game of dominoes.
Back in 2005, though, this court was the place to be in Akron.
James, then finishing his second season with the Cavaliers, had brought in an MTV production crew to shoot “Battlegrounds: King of the Court.” The reality show, which he hosted, tracked two amateur teams — one led by former Chicago Bull Ben Gordon and the other by former Philadelphia 76er Andre Iguodala — and culminated in a three-on-three basketball tournament.
I was there that night, sitting on a friend’s porch across the street, watching as thousands of people jockeyed for a better view of celebrity players they never thought they’d see in real life. And they marveled at the court that Nike, at James’ urging, had paid to have resurfaced.
Continued …
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2022-02-20/lebron-james-saving-akron-nba-all-star-game
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