AKRON, Ohio — LeBron James stood before his city one more time, gray suit and white shirt gleaming, thick beard groomed just right. He peered through black-rimmed glasses and gripped a microphone as he spoke. It looked like a pencil in his big, basketball hands.
“In closing, thank you so much,” James said.
“We love you!” the crowd shouted.
“I love you, too,” he replied. “I really do. I really do.”
And when the cheers softened, The Kid From Akron ended a day in which he strengthened his commitment to his hometown by doing something seemingly contradictory.