You know you’ve achieved a lot in your basketball career when a school makes a bobblehead for you and you didn’t even attend their program.
That’s what’s happening for LeBron James, as the University of Akron is honoring the Cleveland Cavaliers forward, and two former Zips players, with a special bobblehead set.
We are proud to announce our 2016 bobblehead series, featuring LeBron James, Dru Joyce, and Romeo Travis. #ZipsUnite pic.twitter.com/mq7ts3Btk4
— Akron Zips MBB (@ZipsMBB) February 11, 2016
Now, the giveaway may seem like an Earth-2 situation where LeBron didn’t forgo college to jump right from high school hoops at St Vincent- St. Mary to the NBA, but James said himself if he was to attend college he would have done it in Ohio.
“I promise, I say this all the time. If I had one year of college, I would have ended up here,” James told fans before an Ohio State football game against Wisconsin three years ago.
Even that quote, though, doesn’t mean he would have played for his hometown Zips. Alas, the teammates who share the bobblehead set are two his former prep school teammates, Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis – who actually played for Akron as well. So the giveaway is touching on history, as the trio did suit up together, even if adding LeBron in a Zips jersey is a huge ‘what-if’ for the school’s history.
So yes, the bobblehead giveaway doesn’t make perfect sense when you think about it, but LeBron is still a huge part of the Akron community. The school wants to honor one of the greatest local athletes of all-time, and putting him in a Zips jersey with his former teammates is a fun way to do it.
