{"id":5710,"date":"2023-10-19T17:02:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T16:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/50mm.sportspromedia.com\/?p=5710"},"modified":"2023-10-19T17:11:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T16:11:03","slug":"high-school-to-hollywood-lebrons-journey-from-nba-prodigy-to-media-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/50mm.sportspro.com\/analysis\/2023\/high-school-to-hollywood-lebrons-journey-from-nba-prodigy-to-media-giant\/","title":{"rendered":"High school to Hollywood: LeBron\u2019s journey from NBA prodigy to media giant"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Ever since Michael Jordan first retired from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1998, several players have been anointed his successor as the face of the sport.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Some recipients of this poisoned chalice have faded into obscurity, others had illustrious careers without ever threatening to surpass the Chicago Bulls icon, and a select few have managed to live up to the billing.<\/p>

LeBron James, who ranks second in this year\u2019s list of the world\u2019s 50 Most Marketable Athletes<\/a>, can count himself among that final cohort. He has won multiple NBA championships, including with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, been named MVP on multiple occasions, and holds numerous league records.<\/p>

Not only that, but he has managed to meet seemingly unachievable expectations whilst being under intense media scrutiny from an early age. He was a high school basketball sensation, drafted with the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, and his career has largely played out in an era of blanket coverage and social media.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Transcending his sport<\/h3>

While the debate over who is the greatest player of all time will rage on, perhaps in perpetuity, the fact that many now talk about which prospects will be the \u2018next LeBron\u2019 rather than the \u2018next Jordan\u2019 illustrates just how much he has achieved in his career to date. Indeed, when Warner Bros decided to create a sequel to Space Jam in 2015 there was only one choice of who should succeed Michael Jordan as the central figure \u2013 LeBron James.<\/p>

Not only did the future hall of famer play a starring role in Space Jam 2: A New Legacy, he was listed as a producer. Meanwhile, one of the production firms behind the film was The SpringHill Company \u2013 an entertainment development venture co-founded by James and his business partner Maverick Carter in 2020.<\/p>

That an athlete who has grown up in the public eye should be so media-savvy is unsurprising, and the creation of the SpringHill Company, named after the housing estate that James grew up on in Akron, Ohio, cemented his position as one of sport\u2019s great athlete media personalities.<\/p>

His first exposure to the world of entertainment was the 2008 documentary \u2018More than a Game\u2019, which documented James\u2019s high school basketball career. James and Carter served as executive producers, forming SpringHill Entertainment in the process. The production company would go on to establish a vast portfolio of television shows and movies, while James himself would appear on NBC\u2019s Saturday Night Live and test out his acting skills on HBO\u2019s Entourage and the 2015 film Trainwreck.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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James has tried his hand at acting, appearing in the 2015 film Trainwreck<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Decision<\/h3>

But James\u2019s eagerness to harness the power of the media in his early career hasn\u2019t always gone to plan. Back in 2010, James was the hottest free agent in the history of professional basketball. His hometown Cavaliers had hoped to re-sign James, who was being courted by a host of other teams.<\/p>

Amid rampant speculation, James decided to reveal which team he would play for during an infamous one-hour special called \u2018The Decision\u2019 on ESPN. The Disney-owned broadcaster granted James a primetime slot in exchange for the rights to break the story, with James and his team able to sell advertising around the show, with the proceeds going to charity.<\/p>

It was a remarkably innovative experiment that ultimately backfired. James didn\u2019t reveal his \u2018decision\u2019 to play for the Miami Heat until halfway through the special, and the line \u201cI\u2019m taking my talents to South Beach\u201d became immortalised in sporting history for the wrong reasons. Cleveland fans, who would have been upset regardless of how James\u2019 departure was announced, were incensed by the high-profile disclosure.<\/p>

James had controlled the narrative, raised US$3 million for charitable causes, but suffered serious reputational damage.<\/p>

Perhaps the backlash was best epitomised by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert\u2019s open letter, written in Comic Sans font, declaring James a traitor and vowing his team would win an NBA championship before James did.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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James's emotional return to the Cavaliers in 2014 eventually led to the city's first sports championship in 2016<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Uninterrupted success<\/h3>

Contrary to Gilbert\u2019s promise, James won two NBA titles with Miami before re-signing with the Cavaliers in 2014 \u2013 winning the city\u2019s first ever championship in 2016. He announced his return to Ohio in a more modest fashion, through an open letter in Sports Illustrated. That letter would set the wheels in motion for a new enterprise. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cHe just wanted to really be able to get his feelings and thoughts out without being peppered with a thousand questions about why he was doing what he was doing,\u201d Carter told SportsPro in 2019. \u201cHe just wanted to express it and get it out once and for all.<\/p>

\u201cLiterally, based off that letter we decided that there was no place for athletes to really express themselves in this way.\u201d<\/p>

The two created \u2018Uninterrupted\u2019, the name referencing James\u2019 2014 essay, to provide athletes ranging from NFL tight-end Rob Gronkowski to UFC champion and future WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey with a way to directly address fans. By February 20215, Uninterrupted had received US$15.8 million in funding from Warner Bros and Turner Sports to develop a fully fledged multimedia offering.<\/p>

The most high-profile project was The Shop, a talk show featuring James and Carter set in a fictional barbershop. Now in its fifth season on YouTube, The Shop features guests from the worlds of sport and entertainment, noted for its candid and revelatory conversations about occasionally difficult subjects.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Social impact<\/h3>

The reputational damage incurred by \u2018The Decision\u2019 was slowly being repaired – first by James\u2019 fairytale return to the Cavaliers and then by his move to the Los Angeles Lakers, arguably the most iconic franchise in the NBA, where a fourth championship ring beckoned.<\/p>

Meanwhile, James\u2019s standing in the wider world of entertainment grew ever greater. In 2020, Carter and James combined SpringHill Entertainment, Uninterrupted, and the Robot Company, a marketing agency and consultancy firm formed by the two with Paul Rivera, into SpringHill Company.<\/p>

Fresh with US$100 million in funding and with tennis legend Serena Williams on its board, SpringHill Company promised to give unrepresented creators a voice and to produce content that served otherwise neglected audiences.<\/p>

While there was no reluctance to create content involving James, the desire was to be viewed as a serious production company rather than just as a vehicle for material involving the NBA star. Nor did it always want sport to be the focus of everything it did.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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James is still an active part of the NBA, but is pressing ahead with plans for life after basketball<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Importantly, SpringHill Entertainment already had a slew of successes in the bag, giving it legitimacy in the media industry, and the enlarged SpringHill Company managed to secure early deals with Netflix and Disney. There was also an exclusive audio content deal with Amazon\u2019s Audible, with the first project focusing on voter rights in the US amid concerns voter suppression and misinformation disproportionately disenfranchised communities of colour in the US.<\/p>

A year after consolidation, SpringHill secured additional investment in 2021 from the likes of private equity firm RedBird, sportswear giant Nike, video game technology developer Epic Games, and Fenway Sports Group (FSG) that valued the venture at US$725m million.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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If you ain't first, you're last!

Ricky Bobby is in the house!#TNFinTheShop<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/g4698TCnPg<\/a><\/p>— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 13, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>