David Lewman - Space Jam: A New Legacy: The Junior Novelization

One fall afternoon in 1998, a thirteen-year-old boy walked onto an Akron, Ohio, basketball court carrying a beat-up sports bag with cartoon characters on it.

The boys name was LeBron James.

His mother was dropping him off to play in a tournament. She couldnt stay to watch the game because she had to go to her job waiting on hungry customers at a restaurant.

My shifts not over until nine, she told LeBron. So tell Coach C. that Im going to be a few minutes late picking you up, okay?

Okay, LeBron said, wishing his mom could stay to watch him play.

She smiled. Good luck out there today.

Thanks, he said quietly, his disappointment showing.

Hey, you know if I could, Id be in those stands cheering for my baby, she said.

I know, LeBron told her. Next game.

He turned and started toward the locker room, but his mother called him back.

Hey, Bron? You forgetting something?

Smiling, LeBron went back and gave his mom a hug after they shared their secret handshake. Love you, Ma, he said.

I love you, too, baby, she said. All right. Go kill it.

After he changed into his uniform, LeBron sat in the bleachers watching a few of the other players warm up. His best friend, Malik walked over holding something in his hand.

Sup, Bron.

Whats up, Malik? LeBron answered, grinning at his friend, who always seemed to be in a good mood.

Check it out, Malik said, passing him a used handheld video game player. Its for you. My dad got me the new color one. Oh, and if it freezes up on you, just smack it really hard. Works every time.

LeBron couldnt believe it! Hed wanted his own handheld player for a long time, but his mother couldnt afford to buy it for him. Thanks, man, he said to Malik gratefully.

But Malik was already walking away. Lets go get this win! he said over his shoulder.

Staring at the small screen, LeBron began to daydream, imagining he was inside a video game, running. In the game, a furry gray figure with long ears ran past him and said, Whats up, doc?

Wow! LeBron said, sprinting to catch up. Bugs Bunny!

ROAAAARRRR! A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton bore down on them!

WAHHH! LeBron screamed.

Check, please! Bugs added.

They ran away from the dinosaur skeleton, making their way through the game, jumping on platforms and grabbing musical notes. DING! DING!

LEBRON!

The coachs shout interrupted LeBrons daydream.

What is this? Coach C. demanded, snatching the game player out of his hands.

Oh, snap! LeBron said, protesting at having his new gadget confiscated.

Oh, snap, nothing, man! Coach C. barked. Get your tail on the court right now!

The basketball game started. LeBron played well, as he always did. But in the final seconds, his team was down by one point. LeBron took the final shot, and

CLANK! The ball bounced off the back iron.

They lost. The other team celebrated.

Later, Coach C. talked to LeBron in the parking lot outside the gym while he waited for his mom to pick him up. Listen, man, Im not even disappointed about us losing the game, cause its not about that, he explained. Its about you giving your all. You didnt do that tonight.

LeBron stared at the lines on the pavement. He hated letting his team and coach down.

You werent focused, Coach C. continued. Getting your head in the game starts before you even put one foot on the court. It starts before you even get to the gym.

But everybody on the team plays video games, LeBron protested.

This isnt about everybody, Coach C. said. This is about you.

LeBrons eyes widened. Coach C. had never singled him out like this before.

Listen, youre the best basketball player I ever coached, he went on. You could be a once-in-a-generation talent. If you focus on the game of basketball and not these distractions. He handed the video game player back to LeBron. Youve got the chance to use basketball to change everything for your mom, for you, for everybody you care about. He paused, staring at the teenager. You want that?

LeBron looked back at his coach, thinking about everything hed said. He thought about his mom, working so hard, waiting on customers, getting home late. He nodded slowly. Yes, he said eagerly. I want that.

Picking up his bag, LeBron headed back into the empty gym to practice the shot hed missed at the end of the game.

Everything his coach had described LeBron got. And much, much more.

He led his high school basketball team to be the best in the nation. After high school, he went right into the professional league, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Rookie of the Year award.

At age 28, he was the youngest player ever to score 20,000 career points.

At 33, he was the youngest player ever to score 30,000 career points.

He won two Olympic gold medals, four Most Valuable Player awards, and four world championships. He has been successful beyond his wildest dreams.

And all along the way, LeBron has taken care of his family.

Twenty-two years after Coach C. asked that young player if he wanted to use basketball to change everything for his family and himself, LeBron had a family of his own. He and his wife, Kamiyah, had two sons and a daughter. They all lived in Los Angeles, home to world-famous movie studios like Warner Bros.

Deep underground, in one of the tall glass office buildings on the studio lot, Warner Bros. stored a huge collection of computers. Together, these computers housed a vast digital world of entertainment known as the Warner Bros. Serververse.

Inside the Serververse lived a dissatisfied algorithm named Al G. Rhythm and his digital assistant, Pete. Al G. was convinced that Warner Bros. success was due to his genius, yet no one even knew who he was or what he did.