Lebron James Informative essay free essay sample

LeBron James is arguably the greatest player to ever touch a basketball, and everything you want and need to know about him is in the book â€Å"LeBron James: A Biography†. Lew H. Freedman, the author, talks about his whole life, from his childhood to the day he became a pro in the NBA. He also talks about some of the struggles LeBron had during his road to stardom, and all of the historic achievements he earned. This biography focuses on the key events in LeBron’s life during his dizzying rise to fame in high school to his emergence as the first overall pick in the NBA draft at 18 years old. In the biography Freedman uses little ethical appeal (ethos), but has a lot of emotional appeal (pathos) and appeal to logic (logos). He uses pathos when he starts talking about LeBron’s childhood and the struggles he had to endure. We will write a custom essay sample on Lebron James Informative essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It brings out an emotion that invokes sympathy for him. Most of the book uses appeal to logic; the statistics he uses are reliable and proven to be factual because of the evidence. Small sections of the biography has ethos in it, mostly irrelevant to the book. LeBron Raymone James was born in Akron, Ohio on December 30th in 1984. His mother, Gloria Marie James had LeBron when she was just 16 years old and ended up raising him on her own. His biological father was an ex-prisoner who ran out on the family because he wasn’t interested in having a child. Because of that reason, he uses he mother’s last name instead of his fathers. Despite his mother’s struggles she worked hard to shield LeBron from poverty, violence and the streets. Moving from house to house life was often a struggle for Gloria and LeBron, especially with the difficulty of finding steady work. Because of the lack of attendance shown by James, Frank Walker, LeBron’s youth football coach, and his mother decided he should stay with the walkers for some time. Frank Walker soon introduced him to the game of basketball at the age of nine years old and even taught him how to shoot with his left hand. He played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for the Shooting Stars, with his best friends; Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee. They called themselves the â€Å"Fab Four† and together they led there team to local and national success. â€Å"In a move that stirred local controversy, they chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, a largely white private school, instead of their local public school†(Covert). When the time came they agreed to attend high school together. Instead of their local public school, they chose to attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, a private school that was dominantly white. The choice was highly controversial in their hometown. James started on the St. Vincent-St. Mary varsity team leading in most of the statistics, averaging 21 points and 6 rebounds for the Fighting Irish. By the end of the season they went 27-0, winning the Division III State Title. His sophomore year, James averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, about 6 assists, and 4 steals per game. During the season, St. Vincent-St. Mary played some of their home games at the University of Akron. The school couldn’t withhold everyone who wanted to watch James play so they moved it to the 5,500 seat capacity Rhode Arena to satisfy the demand for tickets from fans, alumni, and college and NBA scouts. James and his teammates finished the season 26-1 and were now back-to-back state champions. At the end of his sophomore year he was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and was also chose to be part of the All-USA First Team, becoming the first sophomore ever to do both. His junior year, he was on SLAM Magazine and was argued to be â€Å"the best high school basketball player in America right now† written by Ryan Jones. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he became the first ever underclass high school basketball player to do so. James averaged 29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals per game. He was once again named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team; he also won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award. The fighting Irish finished their year going 23-4, and ended the season losing in the Division II Championship Game. It was then when he considered entering into the 2002 NBA Draft, but was turned down due to the eligibility rules which required players to at least graduate from high school. During his senior year he received a lot of attention about several controversies. He also consumed marijuana to help deal with the stress due to all of the media attention he was receiving. For his 18th birthday his mother gave him a Hummer H2, she bought the car using a loan. ESPN state, â€Å"For his 18th birthday, he accepted a Hummer H2 from his mother, who secured a loan for the vehicle utilizing LeBrons future earning power as a professional athlete† (ESPN). The Ohio High School Athletic Association investigated the situation, as their guidelines state that an amateur cannot accept any gift over $100 as a reward for athletic abilities. He also accepted two jerseys worth over $840 in exchange for some pictures with him. This resulted in a loss of his high school eligibility, but he eventually got his penalties dropped to a two game suspension. The Fighting Irish were forced to forfeit one of their wins. In his first game back James scored a career-high 52 points. Playing his final year in high school, James and the team traveled around the country playing nationally ranked teams, they also played against Oak Hill Academy who were nationally televised on ESPN. Because of LeBron’s popularity his games were offered on pay-per-view throughout the season. In his last season he averaged 31 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals per game. James was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and All-USA First Team for a third straight time, and Gatorade National Player of the Year back-to-back. He also played football and was named first team all-state, his junior year he helped the Fighting Irish to the state semifinals. His senior year was when he stopped playing football because of the broken wrist he got in an AAU basketball game. Many people including high school coaches and former and current players have debated on if James could have gone pro and played in the NFL. LeBron James was drafted first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft. LeBron had arguably one of the best rookie seasons in the league. In his debut game he scored 25 points, setting a record for most points scored by a player in his debut game. Against the New Jersey Nets he scored a season-high 41 points, making him the youngest player to score at least 40 points in a game at 19 years old. He averaged 21 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game making him the rookie of the year. He became the first in the cavalier franchise to obtain the award and was now the third ever to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie year. Even though they failed to make playoffs, he helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win 18 more games compared to their last season. In my opinion, I think the book was good. It was an easy read and it gives you a lot of details that you just won’t find anywhere else. Basketball is my favorite sport and LeBron James is one of my favorite players so it was very interesting for me which made it easier to read. If you are a huge sports fan like me then this book is for you. The only thing that it lacked was talking about LeBron’s best friends, and how he associated with them. This book shows why he is an inspiration to so many people and his motivation to why he dominates the game to this day.