Table of Contents
Introduction 8
Chapter 1 The Chosen One
It's Decisions, Decisions for LeBron James Brandon Lilly 11
Hoops in Hollywood, for Young Dreamers Mike Wise 14
The LeBron James Show is Corning to the End of Act I Bill Finley 18
James Era Begins Before 15,123 Charlie Nobles 21
James Answers Hype With Standout Debut Chris Broussard 24
LeBron Carnival Makes Its Debut Selena Roberts 27
James's Debut Leaves Critics Gushing Chris Broussard 30
In Year 1, James Pumped the Volume to 11 Harvey Araton 34
James Is Earning His Wings Liz Robbins 38
Skipping Straight to the James Era, With One Caveat Harvey Araton 42
Remembering King James, Before and After His Crowning Harvey Araton 46
Chapter 2 Moves, Basketball and Otherwise
Cleveland's Venom Validates James's Exit William C. Rhoden 50
LeBron James Is a Sack of Melons Sam Anderson 53
The Decision Is Reversed, and Cleveland Is in a Forgiving Mood Scott Cacciola 59
LeBron James Awards Game Balls to Friends and Foes Scott Cacciola 63
Cavaliers Defeat Warriors to Win Their First N.B.A. Title Scott Cacciola 66
The Arc of the LeBron James Story Reaches Its Climax Marc Tracy 70
LeBron James Delivered on His Promise in 2016 Christopher Clarey 74
LeBron James Celebrates 30,000th Point and Then He Scores It Benjamin Hoffman 77
LeBron James Delivered. Now Does He Exit? Michael Powell 80
The N.B.A. Has the Hottest Stove. LeBron James Is the Flame. Marc Stein 86
LeBron James Joining Lakers on 4-Year $154 Million Deal Marc Stein Scott Cacciola 90
LeBron James to the Lakers: There's Much to Unpack Here Marc Stein 95
LeBron James Puts on a Lakers Uniform, and a Stoic Mask Kurt Streeter 98
LeBron James Has Plenty of Patience. For Now. Scott Cacciola 101
LeBron James Returns to Cleveland, and Lakers Come Back to Win Marc Stein 104
LeBron James Is the Change Fans Want to See in the Basketball World Scott Cacciola 107
Chapter 3 Criticism and Challenges
LeBron James's S.U.V. Prompts an Investigation Frank Litsky 114
Two Rookie Sensations Don't Make All-Star Cut Lee Jenkins 117
Young Guns Try Something New: Benchwarming William C. Rhoden 120
Cavaliers Sinking, Despite James's Efforts Howard Beck 122
A Statement Hits Home as Cleveland Stews Frank W. Lewis 125
LeBron James Is So Luminous, Yet So Trapped by the Public's Glare Harvey Araton 128
One Thing LeBron James Can't Win: A Comparison With Michael Jordan Harvey Araton 132
LeBron James Is a One-Man Show. Sometimes That Is the Problem. Scott Cacciola 135
LeBron James and the Superstar Fallacy Will Leitch 138
Why Kobe Bryant Fans Don't Like LeBron James Scott Cacciola 141
LeBron James Is Hurt in Lakers' Blowout of the Warriors Scott Cacciola 146
There Are Lakers Not Named LeBron James - and They Are Not So Bad Scott Cacciola 148
Chapter 4 On the Political Court
Burden Unites the Cleveland Stars Jim Brown and LeBron James William C. Rhoden 151
LeBron James, Calling for Hope and Unity, Endorses Hillary Clinton Yamiche Alcindor 155
LeBron James Fires Back at Phil Jackson for 'Posse' Comment Mike Vorkunov 157
LeBron James Boycotts Donald Trump's Hotel, Then Beats Up Knicks Scott Cacciola 160
LeBron James Responds to Racial Vandalism: 'Being Black in America is Tough' Scott Cacciola Jonah Engel Bromwich 165
'To Me. It Was Racist': N.B.A. Players Respond to Laura Ingraham's Comments on LeBron James Jonah Engel Bromwich 168
LeBron James and Stephen Curry Unite Against White House Visits Benjamin Hoffman 171
Trump Mocks LeBron James's Intelligence and Calls Don Lemon 'Dumbest Man' on TV Christina Caron 175
Donald Trump and the Black Athlete Michael Powell 179
Chapter 5 Personality and Pursuits
N.B.A. Star, Now Memoirist- on Hometown Court Charles McGrath 182
LeBron James and His Alter Egos Star in an Internet Animated Series Dave Itzkoff 187
LeBron James Developing TV Series for Starz Dave Itzkoff 190
Look Homeward. LeBron Ross Douthat 191
In Going Home. James May Be Ending an Exile From Himself William C. Rhoden 194
Will the LeBron James Stimulus Be Good for Cleveland? Binyamin Appelbaum 198
The N.B.A.'s Decider: Hew LeBron James Controls Fortunes Scott Cacciola 203
Ryan Coogler and LeBron James Bringing Back 'Space Jam' Sopan Deb 207
Glossary 209
Media Literacy Terms 211
Media Literacy Questions 214
Citations 216
Index 222