Uninterrupted / YouTube
LeBron James is the G.O.A.T. of the NBA’s modern era. We could spend lifetimes discussing him versus M.J. but let’s just say he’s in a league of his own during his career. Similarly, Tony Hawk is the king of skating and has had more influence on the sport of skateboarding than any other individual throughout the sport’s history.
Recently, Tony Hawk and LeBron James sat down on the Uninterrupted digital series sponsored by Indeed to discuss the transition from childhood to becoming professional athletes, when they knew they could go pro, what that looked like, longevity in the sports, and LeBron discussed what he is looking forward to the most next season.
Tony Hawk And LeBron James
Spoiler alert: LeBron James didn’t immediately say “chasing another championship” when asked what he is looking forward to the most in his 23rd NBA season. Instead, he talked about how he still loves training and pushing himself to the max.
Tony Hawk asked LeBron James “what’s the most fun thing you can do with basketball at this point?” That’s an interesting way to phrase the question because it opens it up to ‘fun’ versus straight goals.
But LeBron’s immediate responses was “just going out and training, I love training still.” He went on to describe the process, saying “I love to go out and feel the basketball. Get on the court. Gatch the ball float through the air. Go through the net. Hear the ball bounce. Hear the shoes screech on the floor.”
King James said each time he’s out there “it still feels like the first time he picked up a ball” or the first time he “stepped inside a middle school gym.” Saying he still gets those “rookie” feelings on the court.
As a former diehard Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater gamer, it was interesting to hear LeBron James’ take on the game. He talked about how he had zero interest in skating whatsoever. I find that easy to believe as 1993’s Airborne (Jack Black’s debut) was set in LeBron’s hometown of Cleveland ad was a rollerblading movie and not skate film. We are all influenced by our environments.
But LeBron talked about how that game reached him and millions of others who had no passion for skating nor had ever stood up on a skateboard. I toed the line of trying to skate but never got good at it while loving the game. And it never occurred to me how many people played the game who had no interest in skating.
Tony Hawk tells LeBron James that spreading the gospel of skateboarding as a sport, through his video game franchise, was a byproduct of the game and not their intention. I think it’s clear that when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater was launched NOBODY realized how quickly it would become a cultural phenomenon.
Checkout the full interview above!