Lebron's off-court legacy complements his basketball success

Mya Smiley is a student at the University of Akron thanks to an assist from Lebron James, and she is determined upon graduation to become a social worker that helps foster kids.

Her education and career path would not have been possible, the sophomore says, were it not for a scholarship and counseling that she received from the Lebron James Family Foundation. “He's life-changing,” Smiley said.

For all his accomplishments on the basketball court — four championships, 19 All-star Game nominations and an imminent coronation as the NBA'S all-time leading scorer — it is James' ambitious pursuits off-the-court that may ultimately distinguish his legacy from other superstar athletes'.

James co-founded a successful media and entertainment company, bought stakes in storied professional baseball and soccer franchises and, with a big assist from product endorsements, his net worth is estimated to have grown above $1 billion. The off-court achievement that James is most proud of, he says, is working to uplift the lives of people like Smiley in his hometown of Akron.