Students Celebrate LeBron James

Jonah Johnson gives a presentation to start LeBron James appreciation night. Photo taken by Reece Leddy.

LeBron James is one of the most recognizable people in America, and with that comes adoring fans.

That’s why Belmont junior and Hillside resident assistant Jonah Johnson hosted LeBron James appreciation night; a social WellCore event that brought students together to celebrate and share their admiration for the 23-year NBA veteran on Jan. 20.

“I think LeBron is a once in a generation guy,” Johnson said. “I needed to find someone who had such an impact on not only the game, but just on pop culture.”

The event began with a slideshow Johnson created that highlighted James’ career, accomplishments and life beyond basketball.

Following the presentation, Johnson asked attendees to turn to their neighbors and discuss their thoughts, emphasizing the social component of the WellCore credit.

“I always played basketball, so to have something like this and getting credit for it is awesome,” said senior Ian Mortazavi. “Most of them are more formal. This is kind of cool that you could just sit back and relax and talk sports.”

The event concluded with a brief Kahoot game filled with trivia about James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Freshman Preston Cobb, who won the Kahoot game, said the event stood out compared to other WellCore opportunities.

“I haven’t gone to a lot of WellCore, just because a lot of them don’t seem to have that fun to it, but this one did,” Cobb said. “Because it’s something that everyone can interact with, and everyone loves.”

Johnson jokingly brought up the idea at the beginning of the school year, not thinking it would be a possibility.

By the first week of January, he began to believe people would actually attend the event and started thinking about how to tie it all together.

“How can I incorporate my love for LeBron James and make it an event where people can talk to each other and bond over it?” Johnson said. “Because really that’s the whole point of these events, is to bring community together and to bond.”

The event being approved for WellCore came as a shock for him as he thought that his resident directors would think of the idea as silly and ridiculous, though he said he felt his intent was clearly worded–building community through James’ legacy.

The biggest takeaway he hoped students would gain from LeBron James appreciation night was the opportunity to take their minds off school and relax.

“I think there's very few things that bring people together in the way that sports and music do,” Johnson said. “Those two things bring people together in ways that nothing else does.”

This article was written by Reece Leddy