It’s a phrase LeBron James constantly repeats. It’s a reality he clings to as both a scarlet letter and a badge of honor after being poised to become a statistic and instead turning himself into one of the great success stories.
A kid from Akron.
Those are the four words James tweets whenever he makes a superhuman play or obliterates another NBA record. He utters them in news conferences. It’s his motto, his identity.
On Sunday, the boy from Akron returned home, playing in his 18th NBA All-Star Game. The event was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, 35 miles from where James grew up.
And fittingly, he hit the game-winner, a 17-foot fadeaway jumper to lift his team to a 163-160 win over Team Durant, winning $450,000 for the Kent State I Promise Scholars Program.
“I couldn’t have dreamt it,” said James, who had 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds. “I could not have dreamed of that moment any better than the actuality that just happened.”