LeBron James signed with Nike in 2003, but almost ended up with Reebok.

James said he has three releases, one each from Nike, Reebok and Adidas, during a recent appearance on “New Heights.”

“My senior year, the process started. Recruiting, the Nikes came in and Adidas was still there, Reebok came in, I 1, all these companies came in, and I did three pitches. I did an Adidas pitch , I did a The Reebok launch, I did a Nike launch, the best launch that I got, where I thought I was going to end up, was really Reebok at one point,” James said.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. (Kevin Jairaj-Images of Image / IMAGN)

James said Reebok took him on a flight, and inside his field, they showed off theirs NFL team.

“I don’t know if you remember this, but Reebok also had the NFL. So they also knew my love for football, so they had all the NFL jerseys, all the Pro Bowl-looking jerseys that were going to be. l ‘next year, and I’m sitting in front of the table, I’m actually going back to class the next day. Vincent Santa Maria the next day,’ said James.

At the end of the pitch, Reebok executives gave James an option.

“The guy slides me the check at the end of the table. It’s me and my mom and Maverick Carter at the end of the table, and he says, ‘If you’re not going to talk to any other company, this is yours.’ .’ And I look at it, I look at it, $10 million.”

“I was a high school guy; they gave me a check for $10 million and if I promise not to go see anybody else. I told them I needed a break. They came out, I needed a time out. I sat there, my mom looked at me, and me and my mom live in an apartment, and you know section A housing in Akron, I’m going back, I don’t have whatever, and my mom looked at me said, ” Son, trust him your instinct, if they offer you this, who knows what other companies can offer you.”

“She’s like, ‘We don’t have … already, so you don’t know that it’s life-changing for us right now.’ Yes, maybe in the future, but I want you to trust your gut and do what you think. is correct.’ So they went back in. I said thank you, I’d definitely like to continue our conversation, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t take those pitches from the other companies that I might have cried on the way home because I had to leave the 10 million.”

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, dribbles during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. (Kevin Jairaj-Images of Image / IMAGN)

“It was like I could have bought the building my mom and I lived in with that god… money.”

While James may have cried on the way home, the decision to turn down Reebok ended up being the right one.

In May 2003, James signed a seven-year, $87 million contract with Nike.

Fast forward to 2015, James signed a lifetime deal worth over a billion dollars with Nike. He is the first athlete in the life of Nike.

James said he grew up a Nike guy, but it wouldn’t always end up being Nike he signed with.

“It wasn’t always Nike. It was Nike when I was a little kid, when I was a guy. Obviously, I’ve been in love with Michael Jordan my whole life. I saw him, Penny Hardaway, Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson I saw all these incredible sports figures, so when I was a kid it was Nike, James said.

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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, #23, reacts as he plays against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter at the Toyota Center. (Images by Thomas Shea-Image / IMAGN)

“It was Adidas from seventh, eighth grade until pretty much my junior and senior year, they sponsored us every year. We played in all the Adidas tournaments, major tournaments in Las Vegas and all over the United States of America.”

Nike has certainly gotten its return on investment with James as he has become one of the best basketball players of all time

James is currently in his 22nd NBA season, playing with the Lakers, and is a guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer once he retires.

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