Although I’m a Tim Duncan fan myself, LeBron has undoubtedly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest basketball players of all time (3x Champion and Finals MVP, 4x MVP and 2x Olympic Gold Medalist). 

However, the part about LeBron that has impressed me is his presence off the court. In my opinion, LeBron has a disproportionate level of influence outside the realm of basketball - especially when you compare him to other athletes (Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady). 

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Who Does LeBron Represent? 

A big reason for this phenomenon is LeBron’s ability to appeal to different communities. Let’s quickly take a look at all the communities that LeBron represents today: 

Athlete: This one’s obvious - he’s a NBA player. Through his friend Rich Paul, he's also built a tight network of athletes in and outside of the NBA.

Entrepreneur: LeBron manages several companies including SpringHill Entertainment, Uninterrupted and Ladder. He’s invested in several more projects/companies such as Blaze Pizza, LiverPool and Beats Electronics. 

Parent: LeBron has been very public in raising his three children - LeBron James Jr., Bryce Maximus James and Zhuri James. 

Entertainment: He’s started to build up his media profile through his companies (Uninterrupted) and taking on movie projects like Space Jam 2. 

Visible Minority: LeBron has been very outspoken on issues relating to the African American community for several years. 

Education: LeBron’s launch of the IPROMISE foundation in his hometown along with other philanthropic work in the areas of education and empowerment has made himself a leader in this space. 

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Changing The Public's Opinion

To better understand how LeBron established this leadership position in each of these communities, I started to study the work of Edward Bernays, who is recognized to be the ‘founder’ of public relations. 

In his book, Crystallizing Public Opinion, he cites the work of William McDougall and the seven primary instincts to modify the opinions and actions of their public. 

• Flight-Fear: This comes from the idea of staying away from danger. It was incredibly effective during times of war. 
• Repulsion-Disgust: This is when we show strong distaste toward a specific idea and/or behavior.
• Curiosity-wonder: This is when we display an inquisitive nature toward a specific topic. It was commonly used by large organizations and governments as they put out ‘feelers’ and townhall discussions to get feedback on various ideas. 
• Pugnacity-Anger: This is used often and can be combined with ‘repulsion-disgust.’ There’s a reason why advertisements tend to use violent terms like kill or fight when talking about products like insect repellents (‘kill the germ’, ‘swat the fly’).  
• Self-display-Elation: This is used to draw attention to particular people in groups, in order to give them a greater interest in the work they are espousing.  
• Self-Abasement-subjection: This is when one subjects themselves to humiliation/pity to draw attention. 
• Parental-love-tenderness: This is when one displays parental affection towards other groups of people and is commonly seen in the political environments. 

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LeBron’s Mastery of the Seven Instincts 

LeBron’s ability to consistently use these instincts is a big reason why he’s considered to be a role-model across several communities. 

To demonstrate my point, let’s take a look at how LeBron has used each one of these instincts to build a following across all of his communities. 

Flight Fear

LeBron’s difficult upbringing has always been a core part of his story. He routinely starts his story by describing how he’s already beaten the odds based on where he came from. The early parts of his documentary, More Than a Game, really drove into the flight-fear instinct home to millions of his fans. 

Repulsion-Disgust

While there’s a few examples to draw from here, LeBron’s reaction to Laura Ingraham’s commentary that he's just an athlete is the most appropriate example to use here. The fact that he was able to turn this moment into a larger movement across all athletes through his More Than An Athlete series is a testament to LeBron’s genius. 

Curiosity-Wonder

Lebron has always been outspoken on the need to show curiosity in social issues. This probably reached a high point when Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul and himself decided to call out other athletes to do the same. His recent talk show series, The Shop, also showcases discussions around social issues with people in and outside the athlete community. 

Pugnacity-Anger 

LeBron’s criticism of Donald Trump best exemplifies his ability to show this emotion in a way that connects with the communities he’s a part of. The tweet below or even the interview with Cari Champion and Kevin Durant shows his critical nature on specific social issues. 

Self-Display-Elation

This is quite common when it comes to athlete branding - whether its workout videos or basketball highlights.

Self-Abasement-Subjection

As an athlete, there’s been plenty of moments where LeBron has taken blame for his team’s overall performance - reducing the criticism that would have otherwise been placed on him. 

Parental-Love-Tenderness 

While this wasn’t always a part of LeBron’s repertoire of content, he has recently made it a point to showcase family moments - especially with his two sons. Even though it didn’t appeal to some parts of his fan base, I’m sure it allowed himself to be more relatable to the parents community - an area that he probably didn’t connect with before. 

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Conclusion

The fact that LeBron has used all of these emotions to endear himself to different communities while maintaining a sense of authenticity is incredibly impressive. I also find it interesting that while the way we communicate has changed drastically - the fundamentals of individual and group psychology (as demonstrated by the work for Bernays and Mcdougall) remains relevant today.