How This Fan With Special Needs Caught LeBron James's Eye During a Game
LeBron James gave one fan a surprise he won’t soon forget.
During the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night, Dec. 15, James was in a time-out huddle when he looked up and saw that the home-team Celtics were honoring 16-year-old Aaron Miller, an athlete with disabilities.
During the huddle, James noticed that Miller was wearing a special version of James’ shoe line that was designed for customers with special needs. The Zoom Soldier 8 shoe comes with a single strap instead of laces, making it easier to get on and off for people with disabilities.
Seeing his shoes on Miller, James decided to go over and say hello. He was greeted with Miller’s thrilled expression.
This special olympian was ecstatic to say the least when @KingJames showed his appreciation for him. #CavsCeltics pic.twitter.com/0j7woaNpEb
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) December 16, 2015
Miller was born with brain damage and was told by doctors he would be physically and mentally paralyzed for life. However, after “thousands of hours” of surgery and physical therapy, Miller now competes on his school’s golf and basketball teams, Fox Sports reported.
After the game was finished, James handed Miller the shoes he’d worn on the court that night, Cleveland.com reported. Now Miller has two pairs of LeBron James’ signature collection shoes.
“When I saw that, when I saw his story, it was just like I felt like I was a part of him,” James said, the outlet reported. “I was just showing him my respect and gave him my shoes. And it was well received by him. It’s not for you guys, it’s not for the fans. It was for him.”
Check out the moment James went over to greet Miller in the video below:
Correction: An earlier version of this post said that Miller was a Special Olympics athlete, when in fact he was being recognized by Greater Boston Basketball League, which works with people with disabilities but is not Special Olympics affiliated.