Brian Windhorst - LeBron, Inc.: The Making of a Billion-Dollar Athlete

O ver the years, people have often asked me what the most impressive thing about LeBron James is. Its a challenging question, one I didnt know how to respond to for a long time. Eventually I came to believe in an answer, one that was revealing.

I met LeBron in 1999 when he was fourteen and very much a kid. He had a bit of a baby face and the build of someone who you knew was going to eventually become a big man. He had large feet and long legs, but he didnt need to shave. His teammate at the time and now one of his best friends, Maverick Carter, remembers that LeBron was barely six feet tall when he showed up in the fall of his freshman year at St. VincentSt. Mary. I remember him being a little taller, but neither of us debate that by the time spring arrived and he was playing in front of a sellout crowd at the state basketball tournament that he was nearing 6-4.

His frame is certainly one of the things many people were stunned by when they first met LeBron, especially before he was on national television every other night. And indeed that is one of the most impressive things about him. Hes 6-8 and has carried as much as 280 pounds during his NBA careerthese are simply outrageous dimensions for an elite athlete even when surrounded by other elite athletes. The first strength coach LeBron worked with when he was seventeen told me hed never seen a teenagers body take to weight lifting like LeBrons did, he added muscle so quickly. By the time he entered the NBA he was 240 pounds and didnt just hold his own but was able to dominate the grown men he played against every night.

During a playoff game in 2006, James twisted his ankle and spent more than an hour in the training room getting treatment. There was a real concern that he might miss the next game. I asked Larry Hughes, his Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, if he was worried. No. Have you seen his ankles? It was true, LeBrons ankles are the size of an average mans shoulder. Once, when he was in Miami, LeBron gained seven pounds during a playoff game. This seems impossible and even LeBron cant explain it, other than to say he ate some protein bars at halftime and drank a lot of water.

Theres also LeBrons feel for the game. Hes a wonderful passer, a master of creating angles and delivering to teammates. Hes left-handed but plays basketball right-handed, which gives him a measure of ambidexterity that few players can match. This has helped make him a dominating scorer, one of the best ever.

His memory is a vital tool, and its both short- and long-term. After a game in the 2018 playoffs, James went point by point over a vital two-minute stretch with such rich detail that some in the press conference just started clapping. What they dont know is he can do the same thing for a game from ten years before. One time we were watching an NFL game on a Sunday, said former Miami Heat teammate Chris Bosh. So he knows every player. But he knows where every player went to school. Like how is he going to know the backup safety went to Colorado State?

Theres his work ethic, his speed, his durability. All of these are pillars in his case for being one of the greatest basketball players ever. But it isnt what is most impressive about himto me at least.

To me, its his awareness.

Ive never met anyone who has the awareness of LeBron Raymone James. His awareness of whats happening in the game around him. The way he can see something two or three steps ahead. How he will know just where a teammate will be so he can put the ball there and whether that guy likes to have the seams on the ball vertical or horizontal when it arrives. He can anticipate where an opponent might go or what side of the basket hell go on.

On perhaps the most important play of his career, when he blocked Andre Iguodala in the final minutes of game 7 of the 2016 Finals, James went up with a hand on either side of the basket. Thats because he knew Iguodala liked to attempt reverse layups, and he was defending him going either direction. Thats awareness. But thats not the point.

LeBrons awareness of who is in the room, what time and place hes in, and his sense of history are overwhelming. He will sit in the locker room watching a game on television and predict what play will happen next, answer a question from a reporter he knows has flown in to try to trap him into a certain answer, and monitor what two teammates might be talking about in a huddle a few lockers away. That description may seem over the top, but believe me, thats how he can operate.

This awareness has been at the bedrock of Jamess success off the court as well. His ability to understand what he doesnt know and how to ask for help in these areas has been vital for the expansion of his business empire. His sense of whom he can take advantage of and who are trying to take advantage of him has served him immensely well. It may seem a little coarse, but its true. LeBrons awareness of how he can use his celebrity and popularity to gain leverage in business transactions has fed his bottom line and enabled him to funnel money to charities he cares about without having to reach into his own pocket.

That is not to say hes been infallible. Like everyone, hes made mistakes. But his ability to have perspective has often softened their blow and helped turn missteps into lessons.

His awareness helped him navigate what he says was one of the most important decisions of his life. It happened on a Thursday night in May 2003 during his senior year of high school. It was in Canton, Massachusetts, in a boardroom with a man holding a $10 million check with his name on it.

So many years later some of the memories of those in the room have gotten a little muddy. LeBron said he watched Paul Fireman, the powerful man who ran Reebok, write the check. His agent at the time said it was already made out, a cashiers check produced from a bank envelope.