Time and again, fans have heard about LeBron James being a jokester. Little did people know that this is what led him to find his voice and leadership qualities, which have made him who he is today.
All the Taco Tuesdays and funny sequences with his children, family, and teammates aren’t just for publicity. They are the foundation that makes up Bron.
Being a Class Clown Helped LeBron James!
It was all revealed on King James’s very own podcast, Mind the Game. In the latest episode, both he and Steve Nash discussed how he came upon his ‘voice’ and those leadership qualities. Without hesitation, Bron goes on and says, “I was a class clown.”
He continued, “I was a class clown and a jokester, and I mean, I still am today. All my people know I love laughing and joking and things of that nature. So I think that’s where the voice kind of stemmed from”.
Bron says that his Little League coaches actually encouraged him to use that ‘voice’ to his advantage, to not just play the sport, but to help out others who would not otherwise feel confident to speak out.
Even in high school, Bron used his voice to call out plays before they happened, which helped him increase his confidence in himself and the game by a lot. And then, the remaining portion was taken care of, all thanks to the press coverage he and his teammates were getting into high school. He said that he would go on to the second line of the press and shoot gaps, get steals, call out sets, and improve his foundation even more.
Even as a freshman, Bron knew his voice was commanding and what was happening on the floor. It was that ability that led him to win three state championships in four years. It gradually translated into a successful NBA career for him.
Despite being quiet and on the sidelines in his rookie years, he eventually figured out how to bring that voice back to his advantage. He helped build legacies and championships from then on. It is because of his ‘voice’ that he’s never looked back.
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That commanding nature of his personality, sprinkled with him being the jokester, is something that led his teammates to look up to him. A few years ago, former Lakers’ guard Quinn Cook also said a very similar thing about Bron in Bleacher Report’s AMA.
“He’s the class clown, joking all day, all night, on the plane and the bus. Joking and keeping everyone entertained. He’s always locked in, but he keeps everybody light. He doesn’t ever want us to get too serious. Obviously, when we take a loss or are not playing well, he’s the first to get on us and build us back up, but he keeps everything light”.
James is currently evading Father Time. Even at 40, he is unquestionably one of the most competitive and demanding basketball players to step foot on the court. He knows when to hit the grind, and he knows how and when to hit that “off” switch, and connect and lead properly.
