LeBron James: NBA Legend and Photo Director?

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To most, LeBron James is a star basketball player, but the everyday NBA fan does not get a real glimpse into what James is like beyond that.

Photographer Jeffery A. Salter, however, saw a whole new side of James during his most recent portrait session for the October cover of Sports Illustrated: Salter had photographed James by himself before, but this was the first time he took the Lakers star’s photo alongside his two sons, 17-year-old Bronny and 15-year-old Bryce.

“It was fun to watch the way LeBron interacted with his sons. They were very attentive,” Salter says. “And the energy was good. You can feel the connection that they have; the bond is very strong.”

One of Salter’s favorite images from the day, he says, perfectly captures the relationship between James and his sons, both of whom have followed in their father’s footsteps playing basketball. It shows James standing in the middle of the two boys holding a basketball high in the air. (He has about six inches on Bronny and three on Bryce.) The two kids are on either side, reaching up for the ball as if to grab it from their father’s hands.

During the cover interview, James surprised NBA fans (as well as his family, reportedly) by revealing his goal is to stay in the NBA long enough to play with both his sons. But for now, the family shares the court with James as an occasional coach for Bronny’s team.

“In the game you just see him just, you know, dribbling the ball, dunking it, doing all the game action. But here he’s actually talking, in soft tones or hard tones, just being a dad, you know, like do this or do that, or this is what I want you to do,” Salter says.

Salter adds that James is particularly visual as a coach, which paid off when it came to organizing the cover photos. Not only was the small forward (… and power forward and shooting guard and point guard) coaching his two sons on where to stand or how to pose, but he also helped Salter by pointing out different angle possibilities or background ideas.

“It’s hard directing three people,” Salter says. “Luckily I had a lot of help from LeBron. He’s a star basketball player, but he’s also a great help on set. He’s very visual, and he knows how to engage his sons.”

At one point during the session, the three Jameses were sitting on the bleachers together, and Salter saw out of the corner of his eye how aesthetically pleasing the image was. The two boys had been styled with green shorts and green-trimmed shoes to match the gym they were photographing in (James himself chose to wear a shirt with a photo of his original SI cover, taken when he was just 17), so the dark-green bleachers made a perfect backdrop.

“He said to me, ‘We want to do this shot, me and my sons sitting on the bleachers,’” Salter says. “I didn’t even have to mention it to him. He’s a natural.”

You can read Chris Ballard’s cover story on James and his sons here.