LEBRON'S OFF-COURT LEGACY COMPLEMENTS HIS BASKETBALL SUCCESS

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. Many athletes have excelled...

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. The sophomore says her education and career path would not have been possible were it not for a scholarship and counseling 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 his 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. Many athletes have excelled in one or more of these areas. But few have done all of them as well as James, who passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA's career scoring record on Tuesday night. James now has 38,390 points, three more than Abdul-Jabbar retired with.