7/10/2024 0 Comments Father and Son playing on the same NBA team, it's one of the greatest life stories everTen years ago, Lebron James posted a note to his father on Instagram:
"you know what, I don't know you, I have no idea who you are, but because of you is part of the reason who I am today. The fuel that I use - you not being there - it's part of the reason I grew up to become who I am." Since then, Lebron never made it a secret how much he valued being a dad. He even went so far to publicly proclaim his desire to one day play on the same team in the NBA as his son Bronny. Well, that desire came true. A couple of weeks ago the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny. When the season begins, if all goes according to plan, Lebron and Bronny will be the first father and son duo to ever share the court in an NBA game. Looking ahead to that moment, Lebron said: "It's probably, when it comes to basketball, it's the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever had. I’ve done it all as an individual, but there’s no greater accomplishment that will be able to overtake me being able to be on the same floor as my son. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened.” Here's one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game, a man who grew up having no idea who is father is, a man with a basketball resume that lists accomplishment after accomplishment, saying the greatest one of all will be playing basketball with his son. There are a lot of opinions out there that Bronny didn't deserve his spot on the Lakers, that his basketball skills don't rise to the level of the NBA. I'm not an NBA talent expert, so I don't really have an opinion on that. But if those opinions are true, it only makes the story all the more remarkable to me. Because if Lebron used his status as leverage to convince a team to draft his son, some pretty remarkable things had to be in place to allow that to happen. The biggest of them, at almost 40 years old, Lebron James had to be in the physical shape and still playing the game at a level elite enough that any team would draft his son just to keep Lebron. I am awed by a man so committed to playing a game with his son that he continue to keep himself in the shape and condition he's stayed in - a shape no other 40 year old NBA player can match - to make that dream come true. A dad committed to being the dad he never had. I hear the word nepotism thrown around. Nepotism is the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives in an occupation or field. Well, men who look like Lebron haven't always had the privilege of practicing nepotism. So not only, then, if Bronny truly isn't NBA material, did Lebron overcome historical NBA physical limitations that come with age, he's also overcome cultural barriers that come with his race. I have never been the biggest Lebron James basketball fan, mainly because I grew up watching Michael Jordan and will always consider him the greatest to ever play the game. But that's basketball; this story is life. And who can't love this story? Lebron spent an entire life dreaming at times about what it would have been like to have a dad. Then he turned that dream into a dream of being a dad. And then being a dad who played in the NBA with his son. And now the dream is coming true. I'm not sure everyone grasps how deep the miracle is in this story. There are so many layers of miracle here that I'll actually have to tune in and see father and son play together to believe this is actually a true story and not some creation by Hallmark. Because when it happens, I know I won't be watching one of the greatest sports moments ever, but this dad, who has treasured nothing more in my life than be able to call himself a dad, will no doubt be watching one of the more beautiful life stories I have ever witnessed. And maybe for that moment, for that one very brief moment, I'll be able to forget about Mike
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Robert "Keith" CartwrightI am a friend of God, a dad, a runner who never wins, but is always searching for beauty in the race. Archives
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