LeBron James Shocked At Chari Hawkins’ Throwback Picture of Theirs From Over 20 Years Ago

Thanks to Chari Hawkins, LeBron James recently experienced a full-circle moment. While taking a picture with King James, who’s in Paris for the Olympics, the US track and field athlete showed the basketball star a throwback image of them from over 20 years ago. This surprised James while garnering widespread fan attention.

Shortly after Hawkins shared both pictures on her TikTok, followers grew eager to understand her connection to James. This prompted her to explain the story behind the throwback picture. While doing so, she also revealed the NBA icon’s amazement upon revisiting it during their recent meet, mentioning,

“I went out to him [back then]… I was like, ‘Excuse me, can I take a picture?’. And he was so nice. He was literally like, ‘Oh, of course’… and then he took a picture with me… So when we took this [recent] picture, you better believe that I had that other photo ready to go… and I showed it to him. He took my phone out of my hands. He was like, ‘No way!’… I wasn’t expecting him to be so kind about it but he was”.

Chari Hawkins talks about the photo with LeBron then meeting him again yesterday.

Look at LeBron man pic.twitter.com/FLp6wYF46f

— 5THRINGONTHEWAYYYY (@5thringontheway) July 27, 2024

The throwback image was from the 2002 Big Ten men’s basketball tournament. As the number one recruit for the 2003 NBA draft, 17-year-old James attended the event to showcase his skill set. Interestingly, an 11-year-old Hawkins was also present to accompany her father, who was a basketball coach.

At that time, the middle schooler Hawkins walked up to the high schooler James to ask for a picture. And the latter graciously fulfilled her wish. This interaction made her a fan while earning her admiration for life.

Furthermore, when Hawkins asked for another picture twenty-two years later, James reacted similarly. This showed how the Akron-born’s exemplary life principles have remained intact. Additionally, the NBA star’s excitement upon seeing the throwback image undoubtedly increased her respect for him.

This highlighted James’ worthiness as a flag-bearer for US sports at the Paris Olympics. After all, he gave each US athlete his undivided attention and even posed for pictures with them. These qualities add to his caliber as a role model, as the conqueror continues to set high benchmarks in the sports world.