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LeBron James sees that every decision his mother, Gloria James, had to make, she made with his best interest at heart. After becoming a father for the first time in 2004, LeBron learned the immense amount of strength that goes into raising a child — a realization that instilled in him greater respect for his single mother. "There is no way, even in the position I am today, would I be able to raise LeBron by myself or raise Bryce by myself. Couldn't happen. I don't know how you did it. I still haven't figured it out," LeBron, who has since welcomed his third child, Zhuri, with wife Savannah, said in his acceptance speech at the 2009 MVP Awards.

In 2014, LeBron wrote a heartfelt essay for Maria Shriver's "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink" (via TODAY), in which he credited Gloria as the reason for his success. "You think LeBron James is a champion? Gloria James is a champion too. She's my champion," he wrote. LeBron described Gloria's decision to send her 9-year-old to live with coach Frank Walker for a year as "a supreme sacrifice." Gloria spent weekends with her son and saw that he was blossoming, giving her proof she had made the right decision. During that year, Gloria found steady employment and rented a two-bedroom apartment. "I moved back in with her. We stayed together until I finished high school. The rest is history," LeBron wrote.

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