LeBron James and Nike surprise high school basketball team with gear

Nov 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) on the sideline in the first half of the game against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-93. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

As a high school basketball coach, I’m a big fan of NBA players getting involved and doing cool things for high schools. It could be having members of the team head to a game. Or donating money for a new scoreboard or gym renovations. So, when I saw LeBron James and Nike hooked up a high school team with gear I got pretty excited.

For those wondering, the school is Benton High School in Missouri. According to a Google search, the girls went 31-0 in 2015-16 and won the Missouri 4A state title, so they earned the reward. But it also is what makes the generous donation so cool. James really has no ties to Benton. As a native of Akron, James honestly had probably never even heard of them. Or at least we thought so.

Instead the girls were probably getting ready for practice one day when a big box showed up. Upon opening it the girls got to see a letter from the best basketball player in the world and a whole bunch of free Nike swag. That has to be just an incredible feeling.

Honestly, I am a bit jealous of the entire thing. Going 31-0 is special. Having LeBron James and Nike send your team things is special. Having both of them in the span of a calendar year is pretty incredible. Those girls now have two athletics stories that they can tell for the rest of their lives and be proud of. That isn’t something that most people in the world get.

So good on James for making this happen. With just a simple conversation with Nike he has touched the lives of people he had no real reason to. That seems like a really great thing to do.

But really we shouldn’t be that surprised. James consistently does way more than is necessary in regards to working with kids. Not only is he one of the best players in the game, he is consistently one of the best people.

So congrats to the girls once again on their undefeated season and new gear. And good luck this season on keeping the winning streak going. That won’t be easy but clearly you have the talent to do this.

Oh, and LeBron and/or anyone at Nike who may be reading this. Feel free to ship some stuff out to the teams at Dunellen High School. My contact info is in my bio if you need it. We would love it too.

Also a big hat tip to the guys at the NBA Reddit for the find.

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