Lebron James and Dwyane Wade: Unauthorized Biographies

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James on the Court

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.

LeBron’s quickness and strength are off the charts, his court vision and ball-handling skills are highly developed, and his rebounding and defense are superb. LeBron’s 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.

LeBron’s 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 statement—or score a key bucket—he 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 Wade—based off of Wade's past success—should 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.

James' Life from the beginning

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 didn’t 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.

By now LeBron had developed into a superb athlete. In addition to his natural speed, quickness and strength, he could think his way around the court or gridiron. His hero was Michael Jordan, and he patterned his game after his idol’s. LeBron liked taking it to the hole, as well as launching jumpers, but he took a special delight in distributing the basketball to his teammates.

In football, LeBron usually played receiver. He scored 19 touchdowns in six games in his first year of Pee Wee football. His coach was Frankie Walker, a man who would soon have a profound effect on his life. After the season ended, Walker began hearing stories that his young star, now a fourth-grader, was missing school on a regular basis. He soon discovered that LeBron had all but dropped out. Walker confronted Gloria, who admitted that her son needed a more stable living environment. They agreed that Lebron should move in with Walker and his family.

LeBron quickly took to his new surroundings. Walker and his wife, Pam, had three kids, Chanelle, Frankie Jr., and Tanesha. Everyone in the household, including LeBron, was responsible for daily chores. The structure did wonders for him. As a fifth grader, he received his school’s attendance award.

Walker also had a positive impact on Lebron’s basketball. Among other things, he taught the youngster how to shoot with his left hand.

After 18 months of living separately from her son, Gloria took him back. But when financial problems arose, LeBron returned to the Walkers. Eventually they worked out an arrangement to help Gloria pay her rent. Walker and his wife wanted to ensure that LeBron always had a place in the Akron area he could call home.

For LeBron, another advantage of living with the Walkers was his friendship with Frankie Jr. The two ran with four other boys—Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, Willie McGee and Romeo Travis. Together they formed a terrific team on the basketball court. On Sunday nights they gathered at the Akron Jewish Community Center, where Keith Dambrot, the former head coach at Central Michigan University, put them through their paces.

LeBron and Dru, who played point guard, became extremely close friends. In fact, when LeBron was 12, he spent most of that summer living with Joyce’s family.

It didn't take long for LeBron and his crew to gain recognition around Akron. They learned the fundamentals of basketball from Dambrot and developed tremendous chemistry with one another. Literally and figuratively, LeBron was head-and-shoulders above his friends. By the eighth grade he was six feet tall, could play all five positions and had a sixth sense for the game.

Calling themselves the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars, LeBron and his pals—coached by Joyce’s father—made a splash on the national