Erika D. Smith: I promise, this is the real story of how LeBron James is saving Akron
AKRON, Ohio — Lots of stories have been written about LeBron James and Cleveland.
About how, as a Cavalier, he came through for a city that had long ago soured on the possibility of winning a championship. And more recently, about how he's still loved in The Land, despite decamping for life in Los Angeles as a Laker.
But I want to tell you a different story, this one about LeBron James and Akron.
About how, in addition to being the biggest booster of this proud but struggling city of roughly 200,000 people, he also is setting himself up to be its biggest savior — far more than most people realize.
But let's begin at the beginning, at a gritty little basketball court 35 miles from the glitz of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
While fans gathering for Sunday's NBA All-Star game will undoubtedly see themselves as welcoming a wayward James "home," it's this court in west Akron that he never really left.
Tucked away in a tree-filled neighborhood park, it's not on any official or unofficial sightseeing tour. Locals, for the most part, are only ones who know and care about it.
