LeBron Says Opening a School in His Hometown Is Bigger Than Any Championship

'Besides having three kids and marrying my wife, putting my mom in a position where she never has to worry about anything ever again for the rest of her life, this is right up there,' James told media. 'Championships, MVPs, I mean points, rebounds and assists, that stuff [is] whatever. But for me to be able to open up a school and give back to my inner city, so many kids that I know because I was those kids.'

1. It’s still a public school

   Unfortunately, I have gotten accustomed to having to say this in regards to charter schools: Charter schools are public schools. This public school just happened to be created in partnership with James’ foundation.

2. LeBron James has a really good track record

   For as maligned as James is in sports media, he has virtually done everything right throughout his career. If you ignore “The Decision” then you essentially have nothing negative to say about him. Even if his TV special rubbed you the wrong way, you have to admit there are very few character issues to worry about with James. He has no criminal record or off-the-court issues whatsoever. He was never even ejected from a game until a couple of weeks ago. If his personal life is any indication, we could expect his school to be on the up and up—which is perhaps the biggest complaint about the non-traditional school models and celebrity “foundations” in general.

3. Having his name attached to the school matters

   Some people dismiss anything celebrities do as tax write-offs or vanity projects. In many cases that may be true. However, given the fact that James is a very public figure with aspirations after he retires from basketball, it stands to reason that he wants this school to do well. Such a powerful ally often comes in handy for an institution. For example, I bet this school won’t have trouble finding money for new technology. I bet they won’t have trouble finding guest speakers on career day. Given James' popularity with the youth, I bet they won’t have problems finding students that want to attend either.