How Bill Strobel Gave LeBron James a Place in Sixers Lore

Bill Strobel had done a lot of work for this client already, but this piece was different.

Not just for what it represented in the client's sports lore, but what happened while he was on the job.

The job was to capture a moment that will be etched in its subject's memory for the rest of her life.

It's Aditi Foster, a sophomore attacker for the Northwestern women's lacrosse team. The Ambler native is holding up the National Championship trophy after scoring what turned out to be the game-winning goal against North Carolina in late May.

Strobel's girlfriend and fellow sports enthusiast, Jeannie Zimmerman, had to interrupt.

What could be so important as to stop Bill from listening to Disgraceland, a music and true crime podcast, while he recreated Foster's achievement?

"We got LeBron James!" said Zimmerman, who came running inside from their deck after being contacted about the news.

"It's kind of funny because I'm usually listening to sports talk radio all the time, so I'm on top of that stuff," Strobel told On SI on Monday evening.

"I was like, ‘Wait, what?!’ So I turned on my guys on my radio program and they were talking about it. And I’m like, ‘Wait a minute…’ It just kind of came out of nowhere. It kind of came out of left field. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Strobel had to turn to his friends at 97.5 The Fanatic to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"I know some of those guys on there. Andrew [Salciunas] this morning actually shouted me out for the mural. We were in the car going to a job in Jersey and Andrew’s like, ‘Oh, I have to tell you about this mural that Bill Strobel did. He’s this good friend of the show.’ Me and Jeannie are sitting in the car going to work and we’re like, ‘What the hell did he just say?’”

"But all I could think of was I don't know how to react right now."

After his friends on the radio waves confirmed that the fantasy was, indeed, reality, Strobel joined the rest of the Philadelphia faithful on cloud nine for the rest of the day.

"And then, you know, I’m still having to work, but in the back of my head, I’m going, ‘Wow, that’s really cool.’ So I’m doing the technical stuff, I was doing a painting for someone. That was happening. But all I could think of was I don’t know how to react right now," Strobel said.

He remembers when Dr. J came to the Sixers.

Media was not what it is today. Julius Erving might as well have been a myth.

"He came here and turned everything around. I’m an old head like that, but it was kind of like that," Strobel said.

"We’re going to get clearly one of the best players on the planet at one time. He’s going to be a Sixer now. That lineup is going to be nonsense. Like, they’re going to almost start an All-Star team. So I thought it was pretty great. So that’s what was going through my head all day. I was only focused on one thing.”

The early stages of Bill Strobel's LeBron James mural on 18th and Fairmount. — LeBron James mural on 18th and Fairmount. | Bill Strobel/@billstro4_art on Instagram

Shortly after news broke that James was coming to Philadelphia, Strobel received a notification from Instagram. Someone had tagged him in a post. It was a simple message.

"‘Who’s going to be the first one to do a LeBron mural in Philly?’," Strobel recalled the message saying.

"It had my name on there and said, ‘Wink, wink, you should do it.’"

He would do it for free. Strobel created a Jale Hurts piece on his corner for free when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl. It wasn't about the money.

It was about time.

Albert Zheng, a local restauranteur who owns Javelin on 18th and Fairmount in Philadelphia, budgeted time in Strobel's schedule.

Strobel had worked with Zheng before, and Javelin was conveniently close by.

Zheng previously had Strobel create a mural that features Hurts, Brandon Graham and several other Eagles at his other restaurant in South Philadelphia.

"So he just said, ‘Hey, LeBron’s coming. You want to do one up here?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah,’ because I can just walk around the corner and execute it. I’m like, ‘Cool, yeah.’ I want to do it anyway but now I can get paid, so that’s cool," Strobel explained.

"I think people really dig that era and they like that jersey."

Zheng selected the image. Strobel appreciated the simplicity of James just smiling in the now-cultural staple that is the 2001 throwback jersey.

"It doesn’t always have to be some in-action dunk situation or some snarling athlete," Strobel told On SI.

"I think when we met to talk about it for a few minutes, we were like, ‘It’d be cool to have that Iverson 2000s jersey on him because, first of all, it’s good-looking, and I think people really dig that era and they like that jersey. It adds a little more to it. It’s a little bit more dramatic than just throwing him in a current jersey, I think."

That Zheng actually owns the building made the task much easier to complete.

“The actual rule of thumb is if you own the building, you pretty much own that wall and whatever goes on it. There’s no community group or anything like that that has to get together in a committee," Strobel explained.

An advertisement would've involved taxes, but Zheng could legally have any picture he wanted painted on that wall.

Bill Strobel painting his LeBron James mural. | X user @StewyHoops

So Strobel and Zimmerman went to work over the weekend.

“That was just Saturday and Sunday. So I worked about six hours on Saturday and it got hot. And then we both went out yesterday and worked for another six or seven. So it probably took around 14 hours," Stobel said.

Like any artist, Strobel notices details others don't. He wants to go back and put a finishing touch on the project.

"There’s some spots at the bottom that can be better. There’s the white arm sleeve that he has going on that needs to be finished," he said.

There were challenges over those 14 hours. The surface was suboptimal. Brick and cinder block can be a drag. Even though he got out early and the sun wasn't over his head until the afternoon, it was hot.

But those challenges were neutralized by the spirit the artwork drew from the neighborhood.

"Really it was cool because I was taking people by surprise. The neighborhood loved it. People were so kind in their words and so appreciative of, ‘Hey, thanks for bringing this to the neighborhood.’ Not one person had a negative thing to say. It was really cool," Strobel said.

Bill Strobel's LeBron James mural — LeBron James Sixers mural on 18th and Fairmount | Bill Strobel

Will Strobel do others like it?

Well, that's up to his clients.

"Again, this is what I do. I’m a professional artist and I’ve found a niche in doing sports mural art somehow. Which is great because I’ve been a Philly sports fan for my entire life. I’ve done a ton of stuff for the Eagles and the Flyers and Union. So if someone wants me to do something, that would be great," he said.

Strobel did receive a message from a business in Manayunk about painting a similar concept, but that's a conversation that still needs to be had.

He and Zimmerman are responsible for the artwork you see at the Eagles Pro Shop. They have not been contacted by the Sixers yet.

They don't do it for that recognition, though.

“No, no, I don’t really expect that ever. But if it does happen, I think that’s great and it feels good. I don’t expect and I don’t do it for that. And if you do, you’re probably going to get let down," Strobel said.

"But again, I’m an older dude, so I have those kind of fantasies, I’m lucky enough to be able to just do it and walk away and go, ‘Wow, I really feel good about that.’”

He'll settle for the feeling that his art is connected to one of the most exciting moments in Philadelphia sports history.

“It’s cool that people are really jumping on this LeBron thing and connecting this mural with him coming here.”

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