Throughout his career, LeBron James has really made the importance of his mother, Gloria James, very clear to his fans and everyone else throughout the NBA, but his dad, Anthony McClelland, not so much. James stated, “Like, Wow, Dad, you know what, I don’t know you, I have no idea who you are, but because of you is part of the reason who I am today.” Everyone was very surprised in which James stated this, and what he posted on Instagram right afterwards: “Because of you Pops! Thanks all along. Could have said ‘Why me?’ with you not being there but look what I made of myself.” Everyone was very surprised in which James stated this, and what he posted on Instagram right afterwards: “Because of you Pops! Thanks all along. Could have said ‘Why me?’ with you not being there but look what I made of myself.” For all of James’ life, he’s been devoted to his mother, only because his mother has been devoted to him. James says in interviews and Instagram post that he is glad that his biological father is out of his life and wasn’t there to help him through his childhood only because it gives him extra motivation and strength to be the best he can be for his family, his mother, and basketball of course. The Magazine reported in 2002 that McClelland has been convicted of arson and theft, among other crimes. The letter that James said and posted to his father came roughly a month after the MVP praised his mother, who gave birth to him when she was 16, in an essay that was featured as part of a Today series celebrating the accomplishments of women who overcame adversity. This was LeBron’s praise: “When I was 9 years old, my mother made a supreme sacrifice. She decided that while she was figuring out how to get on her feet, I needed some stability in my life. I needed to stay in one place and experience the support and security that she had felt growing up in a big family. So she sent me to live with my pee-wee football team coach, “Big Frankie” Walker, and his family. She later said to me, “It was hard, but I knew it was not about me. It was about you. I had to put you first.” He also says that his mother taught him what devotion truly means, and as a teenager, I feel as if that is very important. James ends this all with one last statement: “I’m LeBron James, from Akron, Ohio, from the inner city,” he said, when asked about how he deals with criticism. “I’m not even supposed to be here. That’s enough. Every night I walk into the locker room, I see a No. 6 with James on the back, I’m blessed. So whatever everybody says about me off the court don’t matter. I ain’t got no worries.” I bet the woman who did what she did for him, is a very proud mother.