LeBron James' core basketball principles were instilled in him after receiving a participation trophy when he was 9

Nick Wass/AP

• LeBron James is known as one of the most unselfish players on the basketball court.
• According to one story, James' basketball values were instilled in him when his entire youth league team earned MVP honors.
• James said he realized then that basketball is a team sport and can't be run by a single player.

We may not have the LeBron James as we know him if not for participation trophies.

According to Ben Cohen of The Wall Street Journal, when James was nine years old, he played his first organized basketball in the Akron Recreation Bureau’s youth league.See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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