Belmont and Belcourt Biographies - Lebron James and Kevin Durant: Unauthorized Biographies

L EBRON J AMES AND K EVIN D URANT

Unauthorized Biography

Copyright 2013 by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.

eISBN: 9781619843349

LeBron Raymone James is a forward for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association. He was acquired by the Heat in the summer of 2010. Prior to that, James spent the first seven years of his professional basketball career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. James is now an eight-time NBA All-Star, three-time NBA most valuable player. In 2012, he led the Miami Heat to the NBA Championship, winning Finals MVP in the process.

James' whole life has been one of high hopes from the very beginning. Before he had even completed his sophomore year of high school, basketball scouts were discussing his chances of playing for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before playing his first regulation game for the NBA, James had signed deals with Nike and other corporations for multimillion-dollar product endorsements. Before he completed his rookie season in the NBA, sportswriters were discussing his chances of joining the most elite players in history in the Basketball Hall of Fame. While premature, the hype was already in full swing and was just getting started. Comparisons to NBA superstar Michael Jordan (1963) became common, and some sportswriters began calling James "The Chosen One," indicating the hope that the rookie phenomenon would revive interest in the NBA that had declined since Jordan's retirement.

By age eighteen, LeBron James knew a thing or two about dealing with pressure. James's ability to cope with that pressure has proven to be a critical factor in his success. Sportswriters and his coaches agreed that James has shown uncommon maturity for a player his age, handling his new-found fame and the extraordinary expectations of others with grace.

Lebron James is a small forward, capable of playing and defending the other four positions at an elite level, perhaps even greater than any player in history. At the very least, he is one of the rarest and amazing physical presences in the history of the NBA. Standing at six feet, eight inches tall and weighing in at 250 pounds, James has been called the best physical specimen in sports by some analysts. Due to his athletic ability, he is one of the best slashers and finishers in basketball, having led the NBA in completed traditional three point plays during various points in his career. His size also allows him to rebound the ball effectively and he regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for his position. His play-making abilities are also notable, with ESPN sportswriter Bill Simmons going so far as to call him a "devastating passer". Since 2009 he has been a regular on the NBA All-Defensive Team, finishing second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year that season. As of the 2011-12 season, James has averaged 27.6 points, 6.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game for his career in the regular season and has been compared to NBA legends Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.

LeBrons quickness and strength are off the charts, his court vision and ball-handling skills are highly developed, and his rebounding and defense are superb. LeBrons passing ability is nothing short of extraordinary. He not only sees the whole court, but also anticipates the movement of teammates and defenders. LeBron knows he will be double-teamed whenever he gets the ball, so the first thing he does is look to see where the help is coming from, always thinking one or even two passes ahead before the second man arrives.

LeBrons willingness to share the ball and get others involved is one of the things coaches love about him. His unselfishness underscores his innate understanding of basketball and how fully he embraces the fundamentals. Of course, when it is time to take charge and make a momentum-changing statementor score a key buckethe is almost impossible to stop.

LeBron is deadly from long distance at times and can beat almost any defender to the basket. What made his hero, Michael Jordan, so dangerous was that he was a master of the mid-range jumper. This is a shot LeBron has yet to perfect. Until his post-up game evolves inside 20 feet, he will be a great option for buzzer-beaters, but not the only one that the Heat has.

In March 2011, the New York Times wrote that James "has not mastered a reliable mid-range jumper ... has not developed a go-to move in the post" and his options in a half-court set at the end of games "often are a long jump shot or a mad dash to the rim." In January 2012, Miami teammate Bosh opined that Wadebased off of Wade's past successshould take the last-second shot instead of Bosh or James to win or lose a game. James was criticized by the media for passing instead of taking the last-second shot in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game and in a couple of subsequent games.

James started a petition saying that no one should be allowed to wear the No. 23 in the NBA to honor Jordan. On March 1, 2010, James filed an application to the NBA to wear the No. 6 starting the 2010-11 season.

LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. His mother, Gloria James, was only 16 at the time. His biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-con, uninterested in being a parent. Gloria raised LeBron on her own, and to this day he goes by her last name.

Life was often a struggle for LeBron and his mother. Gloria battled personal problems during much of his childhood. Some of those were brought on by the death of her mother, who passed away when LeBron was an infant. Bouncing between retail and accounting jobs, Gloria was never able to land steady work, and she and LeBron moved from apartment to apartment. The pair got to know all the seedier neighborhoods of Akron, a city of more than 200,000 located less than an hour south of Cleveland.

Despite her failings, Gloria worked hard to be a loving mother and shield LeBron from the poverty and violence of the streets. This was no easy chore, and at times made her choice of boyfriends seem puzzling. When LeBron was two, she started dating Eddie Jackson. In and out of trouble with the law, he went to prison in 1990 for aggravated cocaine trafficking. (In 2002, he pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud and mail fraud.) Nevertheless, LeBron formed a bond with Jackson, and Gloria liked having a man around who was willing to serve as a father figure. Her brothers, Terry and Curt, also helped out.

From an early age, LeBron showed tremendous instincts for basketball. Gloria gave him a miniature hoop and ball when he was an infant, and he amused himself for hours each day with the toys. LeBron also had the genes necessary to spawn a long-limbed basketball phenomenon. Though Gloria stands only 5-5, she has relatives who are much taller.

The strain of the James nomadic lifestyle began to take its toll when LeBron entered elementary school. Embarrassed by his home life, he didnt make friends easily. And thought he wanted to do well in school, focusing on his studies was difficult. He found an outlet for his emotions and intelligence in sports. Basketball and football were his favorites.