Late Sunday night LeBron James picked up his fourth NBA title and his fourth Finals MVP.
Then he picked up his phone, and called his mom.
With the bulk of his 6-foot-9-inch frame resting comfortably on the floor of a hallway inside the NBA’s Orlando, Florida, bubble, and while puffing on a Red Auerbach-style victory stogie, James FaceTimed his mother Gloria, and recounted their journey.
“Everything that you had been through, everything that I’ve seen, there’s nothing that can stop me,” James shared with Gloria, who raised him as a teen in Akron, Ohio. The heartwarming maternal moment was captured by a handful of NBA journalists, including Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, as well as The Washington Post’s Ben Golliver.
Gloria James gave birth to her son as a 16-year-old single mother in 1984, and LeBron’s father has never been involved in his NBA star son’s life.
“I hope I continue to make you proud, mom,” said James, who becomes the first player in league history to capture NBA Finals MVP’s with three different teams. The 17-year NBA veteran previously earned the honor with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and then again with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
James’ four Finals MVP’s trail only Michael Jordan, who boasts six.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.