Nike video features LeBron James telling story of work in Akron community

LeBron James is the subject of a video produced by Nike as part of its series, “What Are You Working On?,” which the company "uncovers the works in progress happening around the world, as told through the lens of athletes who are navigating new journeys in and beyond their sport."

James, who grew up in Akron and attended St. Vincent St. Mary’s High School, is considered by many to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Now 37, he went to Cleveland in the 2003 NBA Draft. He went on to help the Cavaliers win its first NBA title in 2016, after a period of time with the Miami Heat during which the Heat won two NBA championships. James went to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, where he won his fourth NBA title in 2020.

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In the 20 years since starting his career, James has contributed to the Akron community in numerous ways, including with his I Promise School, a public elementary school in Akron supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation.

The video features James narrating his work giving back to the community as he drives around the city, stopping at House Three Thirty, the Spring Hill Apartments, his former high school and the I Promise Institute.

"I'm always trying to find a way to continue to empower and infuse life into this community which built me," James says in the video.

House Three Thirty, named after the Akron area telephone code 330, is the former Tangier event center, which was purchased by the LeBron Family Foundation in 2020 and is being renovated.

The foundation plans to use the venue as a gathering space for I Promise School and I Promise program students and their families. And, like in the past, it will continue to offer public concerts and space for speakers once House Three Thirty is fully up and running.

James said he used to go to banquets at the Tangier after basketball tournaments.

"For us to now own this place, it's going to be another resource for our families," he says in the video.

James lived at Spring Hill Apartments from sixth to 12th grades. He said that he and some of his high school friends still communicate, and call the years they were together between 1999 and 2003, the best time of their lives.

The last stop is a commercial kitchen at the I Promise Institute, where a group of students wearing shirts with the logo "We Are Family" talk with James.

James continues narrating as he drives around the city.

"Everybody's journey makes them who they are," he says. "Because of the shortcomings and things that I had to go through when I was younger, I wanted to make sure the majority of the kids that came from the same community didn't have to go through ... You just hope that you can leave it in a better place than it was when you was growing up."

The "What Are You Working On?" episode featuring James is the 24th since the first video in the series was posted early this year.

Previous episodes have featured soccer stars Alphonso Davies and Alex Morgan, world record marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge and Olympian Raevyn Rogers, among others.

Nike said James "is still working relentlessly to provide a path for the next generation coming out of that same community."

Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nike video features LeBron James telling story of giving back to Akron