LeBron James: My Jersey Was Too Damn Small

During a Nike-sponsored event in Manila, NBA superstar Lebron James visited the Philippines for the first time. Lebron participated in an exhibition scrimmage between Gilas Pilipinas, The Philippines national basketball team. The four-time NBA most valuable player came off the bench wearing a jersey to ball with the Filipino players. James sunk a couple of deep 3’s, laid down a monster jam and assisted many other shots. But in the last moments of the game, James missed the game-tying lay-up causing his team to lose.

James’ excuse for missing that point blank lay-up, his “jersey was too damn small.”

“The reason I missed those last two shots is because my jersey is too damn small, so forgive me,” said James, who also thrilled the crowd by throwing signed basketballs into the stands.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top