Laying outstretched on carpeted hallway and sporting goggles to protect his eyes from teammates’ champagne spray, LeBron James took a moment amid the Los Angeles Lakers’ title celebration on Sunday night to thank his mother, Gloria, who was not in attendance inside the league bubble.

‘I had to leave the locker room; they’re going crazy in there right now,’ James told his mother during a video call, as seen in a recording posted online by ESPN’s Omar Raja. ‘I just got off the phone with the wife and the kids and the family.

‘I’m calling you, I love you,’ he continued. ‘You are the reason why I’m able to even do this, mom. You don’t understand.

‘Sixteen-years-old you bring a little-a** boy into the world. Come on, mom. Everything you have been through, everything that I’ve seen, there’s nothing that can stop me. This s*** right here, this is nothing compared to the s*** you’ve been through.’

The Lakers won their 17th NBA title on Sunday with a 106-93 win over the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. James earned his fourth championship and fourth Finals MVP award.

His mother Gloria raised James as a single teenager in Akron, Ohio, where he ultimately developed into the most celebrated high school basketball player in the country and the top pick of the 2003 NBA Draft.

He has often cited her influence as the inspiration behind his I Promise School, which is a public elementary in Akron that is supported by the local government and the LeBron James foundation. The school is specifically aimed at helping at-risk children and plans to expand to grades 1 through 8 beginning in 2022.

‘God is good,’ James said to his mother, who seemed to respond with the same words. ‘God is great. I hope I can make you proud mom.’

It was then that James’s teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope came out and the topic of conversation shifted to the Lakers guard’s 17-point performance.

‘You see what this bad boy did tonight,’ James is heard saying to his mother as he turns the camera towards Caldwell-Pope.

‘I love you,’ James said, turning his attention back to the celebration. ‘I’ll call you as soon as I get some free time again.’

Gloria James, 52, was already a topic of conversation on social media on Sunday after a picture of her alongside Donald and Melania Trump resurfaced.

The shot was taken on June 26, 2003 after James was taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first pick of the NBA Draft. James’s long-time friend and business partner Maverick Carter is pictured in the background of the photo.

The picture may have come as something as a surprise to many, given the public war of words between James and the President since his election in 2016. Trump has accused James of politicizing the NBA, while James has referred to the President as a ‘bum’ and ‘hater.’

‘I really don’t think the basketball community are sad about losing his viewership, him viewing the game,’ James told reporters in August when Trump said he no longer watches the NBA. ‘And that’s all I got to say.’