Despite being the world’s all-time leading scorer in basketball, LeBron James‘ court vision has long been the most celebrated aspect of his game. He’s fourth in NBA history in assists and the leader in Team USA all-time in the same category. This summer, James, who carried the American flag alongside tennis star Coco Gauff during the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, led the squad in assists at nearly nine per contest. Yet, now the conversation about James shifts to another sort of assist he’s becoming known for: a presidential endorsement.
Celebrity endorsements have played a role in the political process for nearly a century. Viewed by many as the world’s premier entertainer, Al Jolson recorded “Harding, You’re the Man for Us” in 1920 for Warren G. Harding. Four years later, Jolson and silent film star Mary Pickford endorsed Calvin Coolidge for the Oval Office. There was a catch, though. Those were more business decisions than political alliances.
“It was an ad agency [that asked them], and they were just sort of doing it for commercial purposes,” Mark Harvey, author of Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion, and Issue-Based Advocacy, told CBC’s Day 6 in 2018.
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The pay-for-play era later gave way to this current version of celebrity political endorsements. Over the years, stars such as baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, singer Harry Belafonte, NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain, soul singer James Brown, singer Sammy Davis Jr., Olympic boxer Muhammad Ali and more lent their support to presidents and candidates such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Visibility matters in politics, and the more names of note endorsing a candidate, the more opportunities there are to connect with many communities.
On Monday, Golden State Warriors and Team USA men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr closed his speech at the Democratic National Convention by saying Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump would lose the election while making Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s famous “night night” gesture. The gesture drew a tremendous ovation inside the United Center (the arena where he won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s) and instantly went viral on social media.
James has been a public figure for more than two-thirds of his life. For much of that time, his voice, as it relates to political, social and cultural matters, has been as polarizing as his nearly 25-year NBA career. That attention carries a cachet that very few in the world can mimic.
“I look at his endorsement as being grounded in the same vibe as the [Kareem Abdul-Jabbars], Jim Browns, Muhammad Alis or Bill Russells of the world,” CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers said of James. “He still has a huge [repository]of respect because of his immense athletic ability and talent and how he carries himself on and off the court. Anytime you’re able to have a proven winner on your team, that means a lot to a lot of people.”
Rapper Jay-Z (right) and NBA star LeBron James (left) attend the Last Chance For Change concert for presidential candidate Barack Obama at the Quicken Loans Arena on Oct. 29, 2008, in Cleveland.
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images
Christina Myers, a Michigan State University professor focusing on critical race theory and mass communication, agreed.
“LeBron doesn’t guarantee votes, but when he endorses a candidate, it signals to anyone who has eyes on him that there’s something about his candidate of choice that aligns with what he values. This can amplify his candidate to a broader audience — millennials, Gen Z’ers playing NBA2K or pickup games mimicking his celebrations or owners of neighborhood barbershops,” Myers said. “That matters because they see the fruits of LeBron’s work off the court. And this is also a demographic of voters that can significantly influence the outcome of an election.”
Those close to James, such as his longtime adviser Adam Mendelsohn, said his political awakening has been nearly 20 years in the making.
“It was the 2008 election that really opened LeBron’s eyes to the political process and how he could use his voice,” Mendelsohn said. “Whenever LeBron speaks on issues involving politics, it has to be personal [for him].”
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In the fall of 2008, James attended and spoke at a campaign rally in downtown Cleveland, voiced his support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and donated $20,000 to a committee backing Obama. Days before the election, James hosted a concert at Quicken Loans Arena headlined by rapper Jay-Z. James implored the 20,000-plus fans in attendance to vote, calling Nov. 4, 2008, “the most important day of our lives.”
James and Obama’s bond grew closer over the 44th president’s time in office. James visited the White House three times after the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers teams won NBA titles. Former White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Obama was a “big fan” of James — Obama openly suggested that James sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2010 — and that he was a “fine young man” with “professionalism that’s really impressive to see.” Four years later, James endorsed Obama for reelection again, though not as strongly in the previous cycle. In 2014, James starred in an advertisement encouraging Americans to enroll in the Affordable Care Act.
At a campaign rally in Cleveland in 2016, James and Cavaliers teammate J.R. Smith introduced Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. This followed the op-ed James penned for Business Insider detailing why he believed Clinton was the more qualified candidate. In 2020, James officially endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
James has yet to endorse a candidate this year, but if history is any indicator, one shouldn’t expect it to be former president Donald Trump. The relationship between them in the last decade has been contentious. A month after Trump’s victory in 2016, James was asked if his decision not to stay in Trump’s SoHo hotel, the usual Cavaliers’ residence when the team played in New York, was a political declaration.
“It’s just my personal preference,” James said.
From left to right: Cleveland Cavaliers guard J. R. Smith and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton listen as Cavaliers forward Lebron James speaks during a rally at Cleveland Public Auditorium on Nov. 6, 2016, in Cleveland.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
One reason Trump has had such a disdain for James is that he has taken money out of Trump’s pockets. That preference James spoke of had a direct impact on the hotel’s bottom line. In 2017, the holding company that handled all of Trump’s business ventures cut ties with the hotel. The Washington Post reported that 16 of 17 NBA teams that previously stayed in Trump hotels had avoided them. More than 70 teams across the four major sports said in 2017 they hadn’t stayed in Trump properties since Trump started his presidential campaign in 2015. A Trump hotel staffer blamed James for spearheading the mass departure of teams that came with considerable buzz for the hotel and even Trump himself.
In 2017, James called Trump a “bum” on Twitter after the former president rescinded the Warriors’ White House invite. The incident became the zenith of their mutual ire and James’ post became the most shared athlete tweet of 2017. Trump’s obsession with James has even led him down the bizarre roads of trying to pit NBA legend Michael Jordan against him, and in 2022, Trump said he’d only have James on his hypothetical women’s basketball team if James were a woman.
James has never respected how Trump conducts himself on the world stage. Trump’s anger at James stems from the fact that he doesn’t shower him with praise. But the friction plays in James’ favor, according to Sellers.
“It has a way to mobilize Black men in particular, because regardless of what we talk about in the barbershop in terms of Mike, LeBron [and]Kobe [Bryant] — at the end of the day, I don’t think anybody’s gonna allow [Trump] to think that he’s gonna utilize those same racial overtones and epithets against somebody that we hold as part of our community,” Sellers said. “LeBron James pushing back against that helps mobilize a base of people and highlights many of Trump’s flaws.”
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In 2020, James, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a collective of athletes launched the More Than a Vote initiative to increase Black voter turnout. In 2024, the nonprofit initiative is again entrenched in the political cycle, this time under the leadership of Seattle Storm star and WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike. The focus is on women’s reproductive rights and it’s an issue Trump said earlier this month was “a very small issue” in November’s election.
“LeBron thought the most powerful thing to do would be to turn the organization over to this incredible group of women. Because one of the biggest issues facing America right now is reproductive rights, which is something women should be, and are, leading on,” Mendelsohn said. “Whereas the last election was really born out of George Floyd’s murder and Black Lives Matter, this election is very much about [reproductive rights]. Male athletes supporting their colleagues is what LeBron thought was the right strategy and idea for this election.”
For Myers, the passing of the torch is a savvy one.
“It’s not by coincidence that he’s handed the reins over to a Black woman, the president of the [WNBA] players union, as Black women have historically played a significant role in organizing initiatives in our communities that lead to great change Black women do, in fact, lead,” said Myers. “This all brings to mind what’s next for LeBron in this realm of activism. He has room and opportunity to create more and more change.”
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James turns 40 a little less than two months after the election. Though he continues to play basketball at a dominant level at such an age, there is far more basketball in James’ rearview than the dashboard. Time is ticking. The window is still open ever so slightly cracked but open nonetheless. The Lakers feel this pressure — even more so with James and teammate Anthony Davis helping carry Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. At this point in James’ career, every dribble matters, and every win becomes more paramount for a future Hall of Famer in search of his fifth championship. But his political legacy during his playing career is all but solidified. He refuted “shut up and dribble” and morphed the Laura Ingraham sound bite into a legacy that will continue to evolve long after his playing career ends.
“LeBron has done his job. His story is written. I’m not sure there is much more you can add to it at this point in time. His greatness is etched, and that story includes his courage to weigh in,” Sellers said. “But if you could get someone like Anthony Edwards to Jayson Tatum to lean in — some of these young cats — to utilize their platform or voice, it just carries on a new generation of leadership when it’s needed most.”
Only time will tell how James will further insert himself into the political discourse that will dominate every pocket of American life over the next 11 weeks. But his track record creates the expectation that he will.
“I imagine [LeBron] recognizes his existence as a Black man, the livelihood of his children’s futures and the future of the country is at stake. Why not use his voice to garner change and help create a necessary shift in this,” Myers said. “This is our modern movement that we’re experiencing. We’re seeing LeBron James, who has long shown issues that truly matter … You may win a game. You may lose a game, but lives matter.”
Justin Tinsley is a senior culture writer for Andscape. He firmly believes “Cash Money Records takin’ ova for da ’99 and da 2000” is the single most impactful statement of his generation.
