LeBron James became an immediate star after leaving college to join the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. He led the Miami Heat to NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 and won another championship with Cleveland in 2016, before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.
Who is LeBron James?
LeBron Raymone James is an American basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. James first gained national attention as the best high school basketball player in the country. With his unique combination of size, athleticism and court vision, he became a four-time NBA MVP. After leading the Miami Heat to titles in 2012 and 2013, James returned to Cleveland and helped the franchise win its first championship in 2016.
Early career and high school basketball career
James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. James showed a natural talent for basketball early on. He was recruited by St. Vincent-St. Mary High School would join its basketball team in 1999. In total, James scored 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists during his four years there.
As a freshman, James averaged 18 points per game. He helped the team win the Division III title by scoring 25 points in the championship game. Word of his advanced basketball knowledge spread, and James received several accolades for his performance.
As a sophomore in high school, James was chosen for the USA TodayAll-American first team. He was the first sophomore ever selected for this award. His team also won the Division III title for the second year in a row.
The following school year, James was named PARADE magazine’s High School Basketball Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year. After his junior season ended, James was such a powerful player that he considered turning pro.
Deciding to finish his studies, James had an extraordinary senior year on the field. He averaged 31.6 points per game, helping his team clinch its third title. St. Vincent-St. The Mary High School team also achieved the highest national ranking that year. James would soon become one of the National Basketball Association’s leading players.
LeBron James Draft
With his impressive record, it was no surprise that James was the first player chosen in the 2003 NBA draft straight out of high school. The Cleveland Cavaliers signed the powerful young forward, who proved to be a valuable asset to the struggling franchise at the time. The team finished the previous season in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland Cavaliers
During the 2003–04 season, James made history by becoming the first member of the Cavalier franchise to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. He also became the youngest player — at just 20 years old & # x2014; receive this honor.
Additionally, James, averaging 20 points per game at that point, became one of three rookies to accomplish this feat, putting him in the same company as Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson.
James continued to excel professionally in the NBA the following season, increasing his average points per game to 27.2. He made NBA history again in 2005, becoming the youngest player to score more than 50 points in a game.
In 2006, James helped his team defeat the Washington Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. From there, the Cavaliers faced the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. James scored an average of 26.6 per game in this post-season game, but it wasn’t enough to secure the victory for his team. While his team wasn’t at the top of the standings, James himself continued to receive special recognition for his abilities.
In 2006, James signed a new contract with the Cavaliers. The team proved stronger the following season, defeating Detroit to win the Eastern Conference. In the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, the Cavaliers lost their championship bid in four straight games.
During the 2007–08 season, James continued to help the Cavaliers improve their standing in the Eastern Conference. The team advanced to the semifinals, where they were defeated by the Boston Celtics in seven games. In terms of individual performance, James had a great year, outperforming rival players such as Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson by averaging 30 points per game, the highest average in the NBA regular season.
At the start of the 2008–09 season, sportswriters and fans began talking about James’ future in the sport. He had the option to become a free agent in 2010, and there was a lot of talk about James’ fate. Some reporters have identified the New York Knicks as a potential suitor for the up-and-coming player.
James alluded to his impending free-agent status several times, but was sure to downplay the importance of the issue. “I’m focused on the team I’m on right now and winning a championship…I’m not thinking about making a change at this point,” James told reporters.
Miami heat
Shortly after becoming a free agent, James announced that he would be joining the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season. His fans in Cleveland were less than pleased, and many viewed his departure as a betrayal of his hometown.
Shortly after James’ announcement, Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, wrote an open letter declaring James’ decision as “selfish,” “heartless” and a “cowardly betrayal.” Unfazed, James finished second in the league in his first season with the Heat, scoring 26.7 points per game.
The 2011-12 season saw major success for James and the Miami Heat. With his team’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, the superstar forward finally won his first title. In the fifth game, James scored 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. “I made the difficult decision to leave Cleveland, but I understood what my future was,” James told FOX Sportsafter the game. “I knew we had a bright future [in Miami].”
During the 2012–13 season, James once again made NBA history: on January 16, 2013, at age 28, he became the youngest player to score 20,000 points, succeeding Kobe Bryant of the Lakers — who accomplished this feat when he was 29 years old — and becoming the 38th player in NBA history to achieve this distinction. James made a jumper in the final seconds of the game, bringing his point total to 20,001 and leading the Heat to a 92-75 victory over the Warriors.
Success followed the Heat through the end of the 2012–13 season: following a hard-fought six-game series against the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference, Miami survived seven games against the San Antonio Spurs and won their second consecutive NBA championship.
At the climax of the 2013-14 season, Miami returned to the NBA Finals to face the Spurs once again. This time, he lost to San Antonio after five games.
Return to Cleveland Cavaliers
In July 2014, after opting out of his contract with the Heat and considering other teams, James announced he would return to the Cavaliers.
Hampered by back and knee problems, James missed 13 of 82 regular season games in 2014-15. However, he was as dominant as ever when healthy, averaging 25.3 points and 7.4 assists per game. James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, becoming the first player in nearly 50 years to reach the championship round in five consecutive seasons. However, injuries to star teammates Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving damaged his hopes of winning a third title and the Cavaliers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in six games.
During 2015-16, the Cavs overcame the distraction of a mid-season coaching change and accelerated through the playoffs to win a rematch against the Warriors, marking the sixth straight appearance for “King James” . Perhaps the crowning achievement of his career, he led his team back from a 3–1 deficit, scoring 41 points in Games 5 and 6, before recording a triple double in Game 7 to give the Cavs their first title in franchise history.
Finals runner-up James said: “I came back to bring a championship to our city. I knew what I was capable of doing. I knew what I had learned over the last two years: I had left , and I knew if I had to When I came back, I knew I had the right ingredients and the right plan to help this franchise get back to a place we’ve never been. That’s what it’s all about was acting.”
The following year, James recovered and took charge when needed, leading the Cavs through the Eastern Conference to make an incredible seventh straight NBA Finals appearance. This time, with former Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant, the Warriors proved too formidable for James and his teammates, winning the championship in five games.
For all his accomplishments, James achieved another early win early in the 2017-18 NBA season: after yelling at a referee during a win over the Heat in late November, he was ejected for the first time in 1,082 career matches.
The superstar probably felt like shouting often during a frustrating campaign, as an offseason deal that sent Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas fell through and forced the Cavs to make another big deal before the All-Star break. .
After averaging 9.1 assists in the regular season, James had to dig deep to get the team out of the first round of the playoffs, putting together a brilliant 45-point effort to sink the Pacers into the seventh match. pushed to the limit again two rounds later by the Celtics, but James scored 81 points in the final two games to win the series and advance to the NBA Finals for the eighth consecutive time.
The first game of the rematch against Golden State ended in failure thanks to James’E 51-point explosion, but Cleveland guard JR Smith inexplicably dribbled out the clock in tying the game, before the Warriors pull away for the victory in overtime. This represented the Cavs’ best chance to get a leg up on their opponents, as the Warriors easily won the next three games to capture their third title in four years.
Afterward, after questioning his future with his team, James revealed that he played the series with a broken right hand after hitting a whiteboard following the Game 1 loss.
the Los Angeles Lakers
On July 1, 2018, James announced he was moving on to the next chapter of his career by signing a four-year, $153.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, a legendary franchise counting Bryant, Abdul- Jabbar and Magic Johnson. his all-time greats.
The good vibes had faded by midseason, as the Lakers played 17 games without their injured star.
In late February 2019, with team struggles, James accused his teammates of not focusing on rumors of ‘Always allowing distractions to affect the way you play, this is the wrong franchise to which you have to be a part of and you should just come in and be like, ‘Look, I can’t do this.'”
When the Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention in March 2019, James’ personal marks of 13 consecutive postseasons and eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances. Heading into a difficult first season in Los Angeles, the Lakers announced that their star would miss the last six games due to his persistent groin injury.
The earliest James could be out of his contract with the Lakers is in the summer of 2021, as the final year is a player option.
LeBron James Championships and Rings
James won eight consecutive NBA championships from the 2010-11 season to the 2018-19 season. During that time, he won three championship rings: twice with the Heat (2011-12 and 2012-13) and once with the Cavaliers (2015-16).
All-Star & MVP Games
James was selected to the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in 2005 and would earn a spot in the annual showcase in each of the following 14 seasons.
In January 2018, the NBA announced that James and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry had topped the voting and would serve as captain for the same year’s All-Star Game.
In 2006, James was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA All-Star Game, a feat he would repeat in 2008 and 2018. James was also named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player four times, across seasons 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2011-12 and 2012-13.
LeBron James’ Career Stats and Points
In January 2018, at the age of 33, James passed Bryant, becoming the youngest player to have 30,000 career points and the seventh player in NBA history to achieve this goal. This feat puts him just over 8,000 points shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record with 38,387 points.
In 2019, James surpassed Jordan’s career total of 32,292 points to move into fourth place on the all-time list.
After 16 NBA seasons, James’ statistics include regular season averages per game of:
- 27.2 points
- 38.6 minutes
- 0.736 free throw percentage
- 0.343 3-point field goal percentage
- 0.504 goal percentage
- 1.2 offensive rebounds
- 6.2 defensive rebounds
- 7.2 assists
- 0.8 blocks
- 1.6 flies
- 3.5 turnovers
Olympic Games
James was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in three Summer Olympics, in 2004, 2008 and 2012. James made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece. He and his teammates won the bronze medal after defeating Lithuania. Argentina won gold after beating Italy in the final.
In the summer of 2008, James traveled to Beijing, China to play with Bryant, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade on the US Olympic basketball team. This time around, Team USA won the gold medal after beating Spain in the final round.
James competed in his third Olympic Games in 2012, at the Summer Olympics in London, alongside teammates Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant, as well as several other great players. The American basketball team won the gold medal — James’ second consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Contract with Nike
In 2003, James signed several endorsement deals, including a $90 million deal with Nike that could earn him over $1 billion over his lifetime.
Other mentions include Intel, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre and Kia Motors.
LeBron James’ Salary and Earnings
During the 2016-17 season, James earned a salary of $31 million, making him the third player to earn that much after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The NBA superstar subsequently signed a four-year, $153.3 million contract with the Lakers in July 2018. He also co-owns the production company SpringHill Entertainment and has invested in Blaze Pizza.
In February 2019, Forbes magazine’s esteemed James ’ annual earnings at $88.7 million, making him the NBA’s highest-grossing player for the fifth consecutive year.
James is the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $1 billion in 2024.
LeBron James’ Wife and Children
On January 1, 2012, James proposed to his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The couple married in a private ceremony with approximately 200 guests in San Diego on September 14, 2013.
James and Brinson have two sons and a daughter together. In October 2004, James welcomed his first son LeBron Jr. On June 14, 2007, Brinson gave birth to their second son, Bryce Maximus James. Their third child, daughter Zhuri James, was born on October 22, 2014.
LeBron James Family Foundation
Outside of the NBA, James has worked to help others. He established the LeBron James Family Foundation in 2004, alongside his mother Gloria, to help children and single-parent families in need.
Among its many programs, the organization builds playgrounds in economically disadvantaged areas and holds an annual bike-a-thon.
Outspoken Social Media Posts
One of the world’s most recognizable athletes, James hasn’t been shy about expressing his views on social media. Among other topics, he showed support for Trayvon Martin after the teen’s death in 2012, and he confronted U.S. President Donald Trump.
James has also shown a playful side on social media, like when he posted a photo of the cartoon character Arthur hugging his first during the Cavaliers.’ slow start to the 2017-18 season.
‘Space Jam 2’
James is set to star in Space Jam 2 , the 2021 sequel to the 1996 hit starring Michael Jordan. “The Space Jam collaboration is so much more than just the Looney Tunes coming together to make this movie,” James told The Hollywood Reporter .
“ It’s so much bigger. I’d just love that kids understand how empowered they can feel and how much they can don’t give up on their dreams. “