NBA basketball player LeBron James, right, is shown with director Kristopher Belman in the documentary "More Than a Game."
At a press conference recently to promote "More Than a Game," the new documentary about his early years playing basketball, NBA star LeBron James singled out the journalists he liked the most. Most of the press assembled in Manhattan’s Four Seasons Hotel seemed more interested in taking James’ photograph than anything else, except for a cadre of especially earnest journalists who appeared to be around the age of 12.
Even after a publicist called an end to the press conference James continued to call on the young professionals.
They had the kinds of questions 12-year-olds could be expected to ask. The basketball star’s shoe size, for instance — "I walk around and just relax in 15s," answered James, "but when I play in basketball games I wear 16s because I need a little bit more room so I can cut and do the moving around that I do."
While it’s not exactly breaking news, James also confirmed for the kids that he enjoys playing in the NBA — the Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically — because "it’s the best league that the world has to offer."
However, said James, now 24 and in his sixth year with the Cavaliers, "To be an inspiration to kids like yourself means more than anything, even more than going out on the basketball court, to inspire kids to want to become better or be the next LeBron or Dwayne Wade or Chris Paul."
"More Than a Game," now playing in Manhattan, concerns itself with the inspiration James and his four best friends — Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis — found playing basketball for Joyce’s father, also named Dru, during their teenage years growing up in Akron, Ohio. It was a nine-year journey that brought them a national high school championship.
But the film isn’t about wins and losses so much (actually, they were virtually all wins) as it is the friendships formed. During senior day at their high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, James is seen stepping out on the basketball court not with his parents like most of the players, but his teammates.
"On that day I felt like those four guys were more than just my friends, they were like my brothers. I felt like I wouldn’t have gotten to that position without those four so that’s why I made that decision," said James. "Kids always have dreams, and sometimes they feel like a dream is unreachable. As kids we had dreams and Coach Dru gave us a way to remove a lot of obstacles to get to a point where we made that dream become reality, and I think it’s important for kids to realize that."
Even after a publicist called an end to the press conference James continued to call on the young professionals.
They had the kinds of questions 12-year-olds could be expected to ask. The basketball star’s shoe size, for instance — "I walk around and just relax in 15s," answered James, "but when I play in basketball games I wear 16s because I need a little bit more room so I can cut and do the moving around that I do."
While it’s not exactly breaking news, James also confirmed for the kids that he enjoys playing in the NBA — the Cleveland Cavaliers, specifically — because "it’s the best league that the world has to offer."
However, said James, now 24 and in his sixth year with the Cavaliers, "To be an inspiration to kids like yourself means more than anything, even more than going out on the basketball court, to inspire kids to want to become better or be the next LeBron or Dwayne Wade or Chris Paul."
"More Than a Game," now playing in Manhattan, concerns itself with the inspiration James and his four best friends — Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis — found playing basketball for Joyce’s father, also named Dru, during their teenage years growing up in Akron, Ohio. It was a nine-year journey that brought them a national high school championship.
But the film isn’t about wins and losses so much (actually, they were virtually all wins) as it is the friendships formed. During senior day at their high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, James is seen stepping out on the basketball court not with his parents like most of the players, but his teammates.
"On that day I felt like those four guys were more than just my friends, they were like my brothers. I felt like I wouldn’t have gotten to that position without those four so that’s why I made that decision," said James. "Kids always have dreams, and sometimes they feel like a dream is unreachable. As kids we had dreams and Coach Dru gave us a way to remove a lot of obstacles to get to a point where we made that dream become reality, and I think it’s important for kids to realize that."
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