LeBron James' loyalty to Akron, former STVM teammates evident in 'Shooting Stars' premiere

LeBron James has left the Cavaliers twice and the Miami Heat once during his NBA journey.

But James has never abandoned his hometown of Akron or the friends with whom he shared basketball glory at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

The Akron premiere of “Shooting Stars” Saturday night at House Three Thirty provided the most recent reminder about where James' loyalties lie.

While James was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers during their 119-108 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the other members of STVM's famous “Fab Five” watched a portrayal of their youth.

“Shooting Stars” is a movie based on the book by James and Buzz Bissinger about the superstar and his childhood friends leading STVM to three state championships, the last resulting in a USA Today poll national title.

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The film will stream exclusively on the NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock beginning June 2, but STVM graduates Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis and Willie McGee and Irish coach Dru Joyce II were among those who received a sneak peek, complete with red-carpet treatment.

“Some of the biggest moments in my life have been with my brothers, and tonight is no different. This is a huge thing,” former STVM and University of Akron standout guard Dru Joyce III told the Beacon Journal. “We're home right here in the city of Akron where we were raised.

“This is a village. We understood how much support we had, not just from our own families, but from each other's families and the surrounding area to get to who we are, and they still support us to this day.”

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The LeBron James Family Foundation and Universal Pictures partnered to host private showings of “Shooting Stars” throughout Saturday at the revamped former Tangier. Before filmmakers and key figures who are depicted in the movie watched it together shortly after 8 p.m., the I Promise Program, STVM, community partners of James' foundation and media members attended screenings earlier in the day.

Among the moviegoers were U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, Akron’s presumptive mayor Shammas Malik and Mayor Dan Horrigan.

The presence of Akron leaders proved to be fitting because “Shooting Stars” director Chris Robinson considers the city “the heart” of the film. Swensons Drive-In, Spring Hill Apartments, University of Akron's Rhodes Arena and STVM, Buchtel, Kenmore and Garfield high schools were some of the locations used in the film.

There was also a scene filmed at North Hill's Patterson Park after plans to use another Akron outdoor basketball court fell through, Robinson said.

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Robinson became familiar with the Beacon Journal, whose print product makes a cameo, just like members of the "Fab Five." The director ate meals from Swensons and visited James' old apartment and high school, among other places, before production began.

“He still carries the torch for Akron,” Robinson said of James. “Look, he won his championship in Cleveland, but he talks about Akron all day.

“He really loves his city. We're in Akron now in this beautiful place. I think for the movie, it was really important to let that be the heart.”

Robinson attended the Saturday night showing at House Three Thirty along with producers Rachel Winter, Spencer Beighley and Jamal Henderson.

In the film's production notes, Winter said the story is “about what happens when one of your best friends turns out to be Superman.” Robinson also invoked Superman and compared the movie to a superhero's origin story.

Well, in this case, Superman kept his friends 20 years after they graduated from high school.

“I'm just thankful [James] hasn't forgotten because there's a whole big world out there that he's involved in,” said Dru Joyce II, who has won seven state titles as the boys basketball head coach at STVM. “With those kinds of things pulling at you, the responsibilities, the requests, sometimes it's easy to kind of forget where you came from, but the fact that he hasn't makes it even more special.”

The bonds James, 38, has with the other members of STVM's “Fab Five” is “inspirational,” Robinson said.

James hosted all of them in February in Los Angeles when he became the NBA's all-time leading scorer. They were together in July 2022 when STVM honored its longtime hoops coach by unveiling "Coach Dru Joyce Court at The LeBron James Arena" during a ceremony.

“People are busy in their lives,” Robinson said. “They have kids, they have jobs and they move on. But the fact that these guys are as they are is amazing. If LeBron was a plumber, it would be amazing, right? That these guys are coming up on 40 years old, and they're still this tight, I think it's amazing.”

Friendships aren't always smooth-sailing, though, and there are some “Fab Five” clashes depicted in “Shooting Stars.” The use of dramatic license is part of the territory, too.

“The story is going be the story,” Dru Joyce II said. “We're thankful that we lived it. We understand it's Hollywood. Hollywood's going to add some stuff. They're going to make it a little more exciting because, hey, that's just how it works out.

“It's a feel-good story. That's all I want. As long as it has that theme, I'm OK.”

Loyalty is definitely a theme.

“It's just going to be an awesome tale of brotherhood,” Dru Joyce III said.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: LeBron James' loyalty to Akron, friends in 'Shooting Stars'