While many fans, coaches and players may marvel at LeBron James’ consistency on the court over the past two decades, even more impressive is what the NBA’s all-time scoring leader has accomplished off the court.
He has been in the spotlight since he was a teenager at St. Vincent-St. Louis. There is perhaps no better example of how to handle unprecedented fame and attention than James at St. Mary’s High School in Akron, Ohio.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo says he laid the foundation for how the league’s current stars and generations to come conduct themselves outside of the game.
“For 21 years, you’ve never been in trouble, been able to accept your family, protect this family, raise your kids the right way, you know, be happily married, all of that perfect,” Antetokounmpo said said. Joe Walden of The Athletic. “He kind of sets the blueprint for the rest of us moving forward. That’s what I want. I want to be able to consistently do what I do on the field, perform well, stay healthy and provide for my team To help, to be, you know, I was able to raise my family in a bubble away from what I was doing in court and allow them to live as normal a life as possible. Stay out of trouble.
“Hopefully one day, you know, when I’m done playing basketball… maybe you’ll mention me? I don’t know. But he set a blueprint for all athletes coming into the NBA to follow.”
Antetokounmpo has had the opportunity to witness James’ dominance since he entered the league in his prime, entering the league in the latter’s final year with the Miami Heat and fresh off winning back-to-back Finals MVPs.
Along with all this success, James has also managed to build an off-court empire through endorsements and business ventures, while also keeping his personal life relatively out of the spotlight.
Married to his high school sweetheart, Savannah, since 2013, his sons, Bronny and Bryce, have become budding basketball stars in their own right, the former of whom will play at USC to start his freshman season.
Now in his 21st season in the NBA, James still appears to be in peak form and ready to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to another NBA championship.
“Some people might say he’s No. 2, but other people like me, I say he’s No. 1 and he keeps going,” Antetokounmpo said of James, ranking him all-time Ranked ahead of Michael Jordan.
If there was a blueprint, Giannis Antetokounmpo has certainly been following it.
While he was one of the most dominant players in the league over the past decade, winning two MVPs and an NBA championship during that time, he did so while being heavily defended, wearing Nike Tech jerseys and wearing daddy Do this without making a joke.
The 2021 NBA Finals MVP has similar praise and admiration for Hall of Famer Tim Duncan and hopes to follow in his footsteps and disappear once his career is over.
“I want to be like Tim Duncan,” Antetokounmpo said in an interview last year. “Where the hell is Tim Duncan? I don’t know where Tim Duncan is.”
“I want to play this game and then you forget about me; you stop talking about me,” he added.