Lebron James

In honor of Black History Month, The Cardinal will feature a prominent and/or historical Black Americans, living or dead, who have worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes who deserve recognition, and have made contributions to make society a better place.

Edwyn Renteria, Senior Writer

February 10, 2025

LeBron James is an African American Basketball all-star player who was born on December 30th, 1984.

James has had an amazing career with numerous accomplishments in basketball and more. He is the first player in NBA history with 40,000+ career points (2024). He is the only player in NBA history to score 40,000+ points, 10,000+ rebounds, and 10,000+ assists. He has four NBA Championships (2012, 2013, 2016, 2020). 2 Olympic Gold Medals (2008, 2012).1 Olympic Bronze Medal (2004). NBA Rookie of the Year (2004). All-time Leading Scorer in NBA History (2023) and more.

These are accomplishments that he has done off the court, resulting in founding the LeBron James Family Foundation to support education and social programs. He has advocated for social justice, education, and voting rights. He has opened the “I PROMISE School” (2018), a public school for at-risk children in Akron, Ohio, giving free education, meals, and college scholarships to underprivileged kids. He is even a Hollywood producer and actor (e.g., “Space Jam: A New Legacy”).

James has made the world a better place through his philanthropy, activism, and leadership. He has advocated racial justice and spoken out against police brutality. He has helped launch More Than a Vote (2020) to fight voter suppression, especially in Black communities, and became a role model for young Black athletes, proving success goes beyond sports.

James’ lessons from his legacy are hard work and perseverance leads to greatness, education, and giving back creates lasting change. His legacy is more than about Basketball; it’s about making a difference in the world or proving how hard work can help you strive toward greatness.

About the Contributor

Edwyn Renteria, Senior Writer

Edwyn Renteria is a senior in Hoover High School.

He likes playing and listening to music, He listens to artists like Radiohead, The Smiths, Roy Orbison, and The Smashing Pumpkins with Radiohead most likely being his favorite. He likes genres that involve rock, but he likes Radiohead because he loves guitar-heavy albums, making The Bends his favorite album from them and this album is very appealing to him every time he hears these songs because they range from amazing vocals to heavy rock. He mentioned that he likes playing music because he used to be in a concert band and played the clarinet for a couple of years but now he’s in Rock Band and plays the bass.

His goals for now are to learn more skills, play more difficult basslines for the bass, and learn more life skills like cooking and life skills in general. His role models are Andy Rourke, Thom Yorke, and Colin Greenwood for bass and music. He is thinking about going to college but he is not sure for what yet. His favorite foods are anything meat related he is a carnivore essentially. He loves drinks like Brisk or zero-sugar sodas but he loves water the most. What he thinks he can do to change the world is inspire people with music. He thinks society can do a bunch of good things to make the world a better place by changing bad habits and helping others out or even having respect for each other.