20-Year-Old Cameroonian Who Idolizes LeBron James Defies Odds To Reach Hoop Dream

There are people in far-flung countries who would take themselves to the limit to reach their dreams.

In the case of this 20-year-old Cameroonian, there are a lot of obstacles he tries to hurdle–both within and beyond his control.

Nkwain Kennedy Lamiress may seem like any aspiring basketball player who works hard to hopefully reach his dream one day.

Lamiress, a big fan of LeBron James, hopes his efforts can somehow help him fulfill his wish of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers one day.

“The NBA team I wish to play for is the LA Lakers. It is because LeBron James inspires me a lot. I just want to learn a little bit about his mentality before he retires from the game. I just want to get that little piece of what he has, what makes him great,” Lamiress told Africa News.

Embarking on that journey, he uses an unusual method to produce the ripped body he now shows off.

Much of that can be seen on social media. One of them includes using makeshift weights placed on his shoulders while dragging tires tied to him for speed and strength.

Unlike some, Lamiress does not enjoy the comforts of training in gyms or traditional training equipment. Instead, he finds a way with improvised equipment.

That includes taping water bottles to his ankles and carrying large sandbags on his shoulders for strengthening.

As far as shooting hoops, he does so with his self-built ball-return chute.

These are odd things that most would rarely see. But what makes Lamiress’ drive even more daunting is that he can only train if the prevailing conditions allow him to.

Being in a war-torn country, he is forced to scamper for safety once government troops start exchanging fire with rebels in Cameroon.

The initiative of Lamiress is inspiring and can probably be summed up with one of the quotes from his Instagram account: “The distance between a dream and reality is called action.”