LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( / l ə ˈ b r ɒ n / ; 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed ” King James “, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, and is often compared to Michael Jordan in debates about who is the greatest basketball player of all time. He has played in a total of 10 NBA Finals (including eight consecutive Finals from 2011 to 2018), winning four NBA championships in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020. He also won the first NBA Cup in history in 2023 with the Los Angeles Lakers and three Olympic gold medals as a member of the United States men’s basketball team in 2012 , 2016 , and 2024 .
As an individual, James holds the record for most points scored in NBA history , and is also fourth all-time in total assists . James is a four-time NBA MVP, a four-time NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (FMVP), a three-time All-Star Game Most Valuable Player , and the first-ever NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. He has been selected to the All-Star Game a record 20 times, to the All-NBA Team 20 times (including 13 First Team selections) and the All-NBA Defensive Team six times, and has been the NBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up twice in his career. At present, James is the oldest player in the NBA .
James began his basketball career at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron , Ohio . He was widely praised by the media and predicted to become a future NBA superstar due to his scoring, playmaking, defense, and playmaking abilities. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. Named the NBA Rookie of the Year that year, he quickly established himself as one of the league’s top players, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and winning two NBA Most Valuable Player awards in 2009 and 2010. After years of failing to win a championship with Cleveland, James left in 2010 as a free agent to join the Miami Heat ; The decision was announced by James in a nationally televised special titled The Decision and is one of the most controversial moves in professional sports history.
James won two consecutive NBA championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013; in both seasons, he was named MVP and Finals Most Valuable Player. After finishing his fourth season with the Miami Heat in 2014, James opted out of a contract extension and rejoined his former team, the Cavaliers. In the 2016 NBA Finals, James and the Cavaliers came from behind 3–1 to win 4–3 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors , thereby winning the team’s first NBA championship and ending the 73-year Cleveland sports curse . In 2018, James decided to leave the Cavaliers again and signed with the West team Los Angeles Lakers , where he won another NBA championship in 2020 and the NBA Cup in 2023. On February 7, 2023, James surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
Childhood
LeBron Raymone James was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio to Gloria Marie James and Anthony McClelland, a former criminal with no involvement in Lebron’s life. During his 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood, the LBJ family was often watched by many eyes in Akron and Gloria also had difficulty finding a stable job. Gloria realized that Lebron would live better in a stable family, so she let Lebron move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local football coach, who also introduced James to basketball when he was 9 years old.
James began playing basketball in the fifth grade. He later played for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball league. His team became a local and national success, led by James and his friends, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee. They called the group “the Fab Four” and promised each other that they would attend the same high school. After some debate, they decided on St. Vincent–St. Mary’s High School, a private Catholic school with a predominantly white student body.
High school
Basketball
As a freshman, Lebron James averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game for the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team. The team went 27-0 to reach the NCAA Division III tournament, the only team in Ohio to finish the season undefeated. As a sophomore, LBJ averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 steals per game. For several games this season, St. Vincent-St. Mary played at the University of Akron, where the 5,492-seat Rhodes Gymnasium accommodated alumni, fans, students, and even NBA scouts who came to watch James play. LBJ’s team, nicknamed “The Fighting Irish”, won 26 of 27 games in the state championship. With his outstanding play, Lebron James was nicknamed “Ohio’s Mr. Basketball” and was selected to the USA Today All-Star Team, the first sophomore to do so.
Before the start of his junior year, Lebron was featured in Slam, a basketball magazine, and Ryan Jones called him possibly “the best high school basketball player in America right now.” During the season, he also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first player his age to do so. Another season, with 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, LBJ was named “Mr. Basketball of Ohio” and was named to the USA Today All-Star Team, and was honored with the “Gatorade National” award for best high school player. :117 However, his team, St. Vincent-St. Mary, failed to win the NCAA Division II Championship that year. Because of this, Lebron was unable to petition the NBA to change the draft for the annual NBA draft in 2002. During that time, he used marijuana to relieve pressure from the media.
In his senior year, LBJ and his team – the Irish Warriors – traveled around the country to play nationally ranked games, including a game against Oak Hill Academy that was broadcast live on ESPN2. Time Warner, seeing the opportunity in LBJ’s popularity, sold every St. Vincent-St. Mary’s game to subscribers through a one-game buy-in throughout the season. That year, LBJ averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, and maintained his dominance of the previous year’s title.
