43 43 cavs 30 The Birth of a Legend Tasting Success and Failure Repairing the Damage King James Begins His Reign 21 Breaking and Mending a City's Heart 22 32 Index CONTENTS LEGENDS OF THE HARDWOOD The Miracle of Richfield A Global Sensation Titlist Times Two LeBron James NFL Star A Productive Pairing The Block of the Century JOHNS 11 8 13 17 10 www.15 16 20 25 27
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND On May 22 2003 LeBron James signed a contract with the shoe and apparel giant Nike It would pay him 90 million James actually took a 25 million pay cut by signing with Nike Reebok had offered him 115 million James thought that Nike would make a better long term partner What makes these numbers especially eye popping is that James was only 18 years old He was still in high school He had never played in a National Basketball Association NBA game James grew up in Akron Ohio He led his high school team to three state championships Twice he was named Gatorade National Player of the Year He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was a junior IC
