LeBron gives Memphis his shoes and a show
LeBron James’ bodyguard yelled, “Come here,” and so Brian’e Miller turned around, not realizing yet that one of the NBA's greatest players was about to make her cry.
Miller, 23, has always been a LeBron James fan. To the point that she wears a version of his shoes to work every day. Her job happens to be assistant equipment manager for the Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s why she was around the Lakers’ bench Saturday night during the waning moments of a 111-88 win at FedExForum, and why James decided to chat her up as she collected the warm-up gear of another player.
“Every year I’ve come here, she’s always worn a very exclusive pair of my shoes and I’ve always noticed it and I’ve never said anything to her,” James said later. “And tonight, I said something to her for the first time and she was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve always been Team LeBron. Always.’ So she got a pair of LeBrons.”
After James finished wowing a sellout crowd after he dealt the Grizzlies one of their worst losses this season, he gave Miller the purple shoes he wore while doing it.
He then hugged Miller and she immediately began wiping the tears from her face. These were tears of joy, tears of someone who only rarely gets to see their favorite star, tears every sports fan wishes for at some point in their life.
“It’s emotional because so many years I’ve been idolizing him,” Miller explained once she went back to work, helping pack the Lakers’ bags for the plane flight home. “He has so many fans. That’s the thing. I’m not a fan just when LeBron comes. I’m a fan when he’s not looking, so it was just really cool to see him appreciate me.”
This, of course, is why it resonates so much in a