- LeBron James reflected on the opening of his Akron Three Thirty Museum on the same day he returned to Cleveland to help the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Cavaliers.
- The LeBron James Home Museum takes visitors through a remarkable story filled with incredible details and personal touches.
- Lakers players consider James’ legacy of giving back to his hometown “an inspiration to all of us” and describe him as “a great guy.”
CLEVELAND — As LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Cavaliers, hundreds visited House Three Thirty in Akron to soak in the iconic basketball of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer During the trip.
The LeBron James Home Museum opens to the public Saturday morning in the former Tanger restaurant renovated by the Kids of Akron Foundation.
The venue is about a three-minute drive from St. Vincent-St. James attended St. Mary’s High School in high school and became a national sports star. It is a 44-minute drive from the Cavaliers’ home court in downtown Cleveland. James and the team formed a close bond with the team at the beginning of his 21-season career when he When I left Miami and returned, it happened again.
The Lakers beat the Cavaliers 121-115 on Saturday night in what could be one of James’ final homecoming games, something the 38-year-old superstar discussed during a press conference to unveil the museum.
“This is special for my community, my foundation and the people who have followed me on my journey, to have the opportunity to be a part of it and feel a part of it,” said James, who scored 22 points. Part of it.” Six rebounds and six assists helped the Lakers (10-7) defeat the Cavaliers (8-8).
General admission to the museum is $23 – a nod to James’ jersey number. All proceeds from sales will benefit House Three Thirty’s career training model, which employs students, parents, educators and family members affiliated with I Promise schools. The school is operated through a partnership between the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools.
“It’s really cool that I’m able to do something in my life that brings back my community and continues to highlight my community and make my community a place that people want to visit, want to see, and want to visit. Proud,” James said. “Yo Soy. I’m proud of my foundation for being able to do some great things. (The museum) is just one of the things we can all be proud of for my hometown.”
LeBron James’ home museum opens to the public at 3:30 in Akron on the same day the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Cleveland Cavaliers
The James Museum offers visitors the opportunity to embark on a self-guided tour of LeBron-themed Memory Walk.
A tour of the basement of House Three Thirty begins in the lobby, which is decorated with wallpaper made from enlarged versions of letters James received from fans.
With guidance from museum staff, visitors can use a key to open the door and enter the recreated Spring Hill Apartment 602 that James and his mother, Gloria, called home from 1996 to 2003.
Incredible attention to detail gives the apartment an authentic feel. An email to Gloria, a college basketball recruiting letter to James, and a photo posted with a magnet on the refrigerator are some examples of personal touches.
Gloria curated a replica of the apartment, which includes a living room, LeBron’s bedroom and a kitchen. James noted that his mom deserves a lot of help in order to make the museum a reality.
“Ever since I first started playing sports, I would often get angry at my mom for trying to save everything,” James said. “When the museum was preparing this stuff, she threw it right back in my face because a lot of the stuff in there was because of stuff she preserved.
“When I won the MVP when I was 9 years old, she got the trophy and it was so cool and I hadn’t seen it in years. “I didn’t even know she still had it. “
The first of a series of transformations in the museum occurs as people emerge from their apartments and enter the Church of St. Vincent de St. Paul. Mary’s basketball locker room represents the gathering place where STVM’s famous “Fab Five” bonded.
Upon entering LeBron James Arena, we will find that STVM Arena had an original basketball hoop that was removed during a 2013 renovation led by James and his foundation.
Other areas of the museum focus on the 2003 NBA Draft, in which the Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick, and he has played four seasons with the Miami Heat (2012 and 2013), Cavaliers (2016) and Lakers (2020). Two championships, he was on the USA Basketball Olympic team (2008 and 2012) as well as key moments in his business endeavors and community initiatives.
During Saturday’s game, the Cavaliers honored James with a tribute video and congratulated him on becoming the NBA’s scoring leader in February. James responded to the crowd’s cheers by posing with his hands like a heart.
In 2016, under James’ leadership, the Cavaliers became Cleveland’s first major professional sports team in nearly 52 years to win a championship.
“No matter how old I get, I’ll always remember that moment,” James said. “So it’s always a cool feeling to be back on this floor.
“Just being a part of almost all the banners in this arena, and the No. 1 banner, the banner in the middle, is the ’16 champion, so that’s pretty cool.”
What LeBron James did for his hometown of Akron inspires Los Angeles Lakers teammates
Lakers center Jaxson Hayes attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, and his father, former NFL player Jonathan, served as an assistant coach for the Bengals from 2003-18. Hayes said that when he was young, he and his family would go to Cleveland two or three times a year to watch James play for the Cavaliers.
Hayes, 23, said he would love to visit James’ museum.
James’ story is filled with memorabilia. An STVM football jersey, a framed photo of James and Michael Jordan, a 20-year-old white suit donated on draft night and some of LeBron’s Halloween decorations are among the nostalgic gems.
“He’s a big reason why kids like me got to the NBA because we grew up watching him and looking up to him,” Hayes said. “It’s a big deal for this museum to open for him, and I’m excited to be his teammate while the museum is open.
“He’s done a lot for this state, this city and Akron. He’s done a lot for Ohio State in general. It’s great. I hope to do the same thing one day, and (I’m) Try to do the same thing. “That’s a big inspiration for all of us. “
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Lakers guard Austin Reeves explained that he also admires the legacy James has built off the basketball court.
“He’s a great guy,” Reeves said. “He treats everyone as a human being. For a guy of that stature, you hear a lot of times that people are not a nice guy, but him, he’s the exact opposite. He cares about you as a person, especially where he comes from. , where he comes from. So we want to give him a huge thumbs up for what he’s done for his community and all other communities.”
The museum is another tool James uses to give back to society.
“Being a kid from Akron is pretty special,” James said. “I grew up 30 miles south of here.
“When I got drafted, I said I wanted to light up this place like Vegas. So I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job here for 11 years.”
Now, there’s a new attraction in James’ hometown with his name on it.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.