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His career as arguably the greatest basketball player to ever live has taken LeBron James all over the country and the globe—winning four NBA titles with three different franchises as well as three Olympic medals.
But no matter how far away he roams, James will always be the king of Northeast Ohio and nobody will be forgetting it anytime soon.
Ahead of James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, James’ charitable foundation opened LeBron James’ Home Court.
It’s a museum filled with James’ memorabilia from his 21-year NBA career, his time as a high school sensation at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School and the last apartment he and his mother lived in before he turned pro.
“I used to get on my mom a lot about saving everything, ever since I started playing sports,” James said via The Athletic’s Joe Vardon. “She kind of threw it in my face when stuff was being prepared down at the museum, because a lot of the stuff in there is stuff that she saved. And that’s pretty cool.
“I’ve been able to do some things in my life, to be able to bring back to my community, to continue to highlight my community and continue to make my community a place where people want to visit, want to see and want to be proud of. I am. I am definitely proud of the fact that my foundation has been able to do some great things.”
James, 38, and the Lakers even got an opportunity to tour the museum Sunday.
LeBron James and the Lakers visited the I Promise School and House Three Thirty today and walked through his new museum, LeBron James’ Home Court.
Now, the NBA’s All-Time leading scorer, James began his illustrious career with the Cavs, the organization located about 40 miles from where he grew up. He spent the first seven years of his career with Cleveland before deciding to form the big three in Miami.
But he ultimately chose to return in 2014 and led franchise to its first NBA title in the 2015-16 season with an improbable 3-1 comeback against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
A few years after joining the Lakers, James is still being honored when he goes back home. The Cavs gave him a tribute video Saturday night to congratulate him on breaking the all-time scoring record.
After all, he scored more than 23,000 points in 11 seasons with Cleveland.
“It’s always special to come back here,” James said. “Being able to come back here after my Miami stint and win a championship here for this franchise, this city … it was something that I will never forget, no matter how old I get.
“Stepping back on this floor is always a pretty cool feeling. Looking up there and being a part of pretty much all of the banners.”