Teens to Watch
In this regular feature of our website, CPYU focuses on a teen youth culture icon. The teens chosen are among those whom we believe exert some sort of influence on our youth, and as a result it is important for parents, educators, and youth workers to learn more about these individuals and monitor their careers. If our teens are watching them, we should be watching them as well.
Featured Teen to Watch
LeBron James
--by Chris Wagner
LeBron James has soared onto the courts of the NBA and into the consciousness of the sports-minded and not so sports minded alike. If you haven't heard of LeBron yet, read this...then go watch SportsCenter. His #23 jersey is the hottest selling NBA jersey of the season, he has his own clothing line with Nike, and he has made so much news (and money) this year that he made it onto Barbara Walters' "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2003" list. We believe he is on the fascination list of many teenagers as well so it's important to check out LeBron as we study youth culture.
James is in his first season in the NBA playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers...and he just turned 19 at the end of December! Last year, in his senior year playing high school basketball, LeBron impressed the nation with his incredible skills and knowledge of the game. How could a high school basketball player get so much national attention? His high school - St. Vincent St. Mary of Ohio - signed a deal with ESPN to allow some of his games to be televised nationally. All the hype (and of course his skillz, yes...with a z...it's more fun that way) surrounding James led him to become the number one pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Despite some competition from fabulous freshman Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse University and the hype of a few foreign players, it was never doubted that the Cavs would go with LeBron on draft day. The hometown kid, or King James as he is now called, is being asked to bring relief to a hurting team and fill the seats of Cleveland's Gund Arena.
LeBron isn't the first NBA player to transition straight from high school. Others like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant came before him. But never has one player had as much pressure and expectations placed on him as LeBron James. On the court he has proven himself. To date, he is averaging 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists a game. Numbers this good so early in a career can be compared to greats like Magic Johnson. LeBron has thus far handled himself professionally amidst playing on one of the NBA's worst teams. Even when being benched just over a month ago after a miserable shooting performance, he kept his composure and reacted like a seasoned vet, rather than the young teenager that he is.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans are not the only ones putting pressure on LeBron James. Many basketball fans are indirectly asking him to be the savior
of basketball, or the next Michael Jordan. Playing in Cleveland keeps him close to his family and friends, making people wonder if his hometown "posse" will become a distraction (recall Allen Iverson when he first entered the league). So far it has not. Oh, and by the way...did I mention the pressure he's probably feeling from Nike? I'm sure the $90 million deal he signed with Nike is more than a little source of pressure. His most recent Nike commercial, set in a gymnasium "church" service, presents James as "The Chosen One," come to save the sport of basketball. So what will happen? Will LeBron live up to all the hype and expectation? With millions of eyes watching - many of them adolescent eyes - how will he handle himself not only as a player but also as a young man?
James' young age makes him easily accessible as a role model and inspiration to teenagers. His successes, failures, how he handles these on and off the court, his wealth, fame, and expectations are all something to watch as he develops. So far, I applaud him in how well he has handled himself at such a young age. Hopefully the morals taught to him by his mother will remain important as his celebrity status continues to rise. The path that LeBron chooses to follow will be watched and followed closely by many of this generations' youth, so it is important for us to keep an eye on his future for the sake of our teens. It will also be valuable to pray for LeBron as he continues his NBA career. We have seen so many sports stars come before him and fall apart when faced with the pressures that come with fame and fortune. Too often we've come to expect the worst from athletes and celebrities and we simply wait for them to mess up as though we just knew it would eventually happen. Instead, let's pray this phenom will not fall to these temptations. So far I believe the hype, and I'd like to continue believing...how about you?
Quotes from LeBron:
"I'm blessed. I had a God-given talent and I'm using it the best way I can, and that's being good on the court and off the court."
"I'm not upset. The coach makes decisions; I know most of the time I'm going to be in there. I'm still trying to do what I need to do to help us win."
- in response to getting benched near the end of a poor game
"My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me."
"I don't live up to hype, I go and play my game the way I expect to play. I've been a leader my whole life... I don't change for anybody. I just am myself every day and just continue to do what I've been doing... Yes, I feel young still. Every night I go out and feel like a kid in a candy store. Every night I want to go and try and have fun."
Quotes about LeBron:
"(I) love him as a talent, but the most impressive thing I've seen about him is ... he's very grounded, has a good value base, has a good sense of himself as a young man. He's more impressive to me as a young man, right now, than he is as a basketball player, and that's a credit to the people around him. He's had to deal with some very unique circumstances most 18-year-olds haven't had to deal with, and to see him be the way he is as a person is extremely impressive."
- New York Knicks president Isiah Thomas
"We're best friends. I brought him up to be his own man, to make good decisions. He hasn't let me down."
- LeBron's mother Gloria
"I heard somebody say he was hype, but he's created that hype with what he's accomplished. He's been handling the pressure. That young man has handled himself well."
- Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett
"Having known LeBron in the past, I could tell that he was mature. He could look you in the eye and talk. He was aware of other things besides basketball. That's always impressed me about him."
- 76ers head coach Randy Ayers
Check out these websites for more information (or go watch more SportsCenter):
http://www.lebronjames.com (his official site)
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/ (site of the Cleveland Cavaliers)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/lebron/line
http://www.clevelandscores.com/profiles/lebron_james.htm
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/special_packages/lebron_james/
http://www.cleveland.com/lebron/
http://www.lebronjamesworld.com/
The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding grants permission for this article to be copied in its entirety, provided the copies are distributed free of charge and the copies indicate the source as the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding.
For more information on resources to help you understand today's rapidly changing youth culture, contact the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding.
©2004, The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding