LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in New York City this week for a pair of matchups against the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, which gave LeBron an opportunity to surprise some unsuspecting fans.
On Tuesday, the Lakers superstar paid a visit to the Harlem YMCA to announce that he Lyft have teamed up to give free Citi Bike memberships to local youths in the spring. LeBron shared the news with his twitter followers on Wednesday, and couldn’t help but mention how much he loves NYC, especially playing at Madison Square Garden.
According to the New York Post, the 50 teens in attendance were gifted the first one-year memberships.
“I was a kid who grew up in the inner city back in Ohio riding bikes,” said James. “What bikes did for me — to be able to travel across the city with my friends to get from my home to school, or to get to basketball practices or football practices … it’s a segue to be able to do so many things that can also carry you for the rest of your life.”
“Safety is always first, and for the city to understand that bike lanes is very important for the kids’ safety,” he added. “For adults that want to ride, too. So this is very important.”
LeBron enters tonight’s matchup against the Knicks needing just 80 points to tie Kobe Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. We’ve seen him post some monster numbers at MSG in the past – does he go off for 81 tonight?
Craig Barritt/Getty Images
