There are fewer than a handful of people, dead or alive, who can claim to be the greatest basketball player of all time. One of those people is Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James.
The 6ft 8in tall, two hundred and fifty, three-time NBA championship winner and NBA playoff overall winner by an athlete who dropped out of college to start professional basketball straight out of high school is a leader, among numerous other accomplishments.
Alongside him is the consummate athlete, and James, the supposed face of the NBA, is a well-known role model who cares about people and his hometown, giving back record amounts to children and families in situations he found himself in as a youngster.
biography
LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio to his 16-year-old single mother, Gloria Marie James.
Throughout his childhood, James didn’t always have a roof over his head and a meal to eat while his mother struggled to find and keep a job. She and her son were always moving from one run-down apartment to another until she agreed to leave him to the family of a local youth football coach named Frank Walker so that their child could grow up in a stable environment.
His talents ensured that he had the choice of attending a high school in the country he chose St. Vincent – St. Mary High School in 1999. In his freshman year, James was averaging 18 points per game and leading his team to the Division III title as news broke of the next Michael Jordan. By his junior year, James was so dominant among his peers that he considered giving up his senior year and going pro. However, making sure he had completed his high school education, the school won a total of three state titles, earning them their highest national placing that year.
LeBron James quickly qualified for the 2003 NBA Draft, where he was selected as the first overall pick by his home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. James almost immediately showed his critics that he was worth the hype when he scored 25 points in his first regular season game. At just 20 years old, James became the youngest person ever to be named NBA Rookie of the Year. He averaged 20 points per game throughout the season, a feat unmatched by only two other players in the game’s history. Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson.
James continued to make league history as he smashed and set records along the way. By 2006, he was leading his team to their first playoff qualification since 1998. After being eliminated in the second round by the Detriot Pistons the year before, James took matters into his own hands and avenged the team to win the Cavaliers their first Eastern Conference Championship. He was eventually swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 NBA Finals.
In the 2007-08 season, LeBron became JamesCleveland’s all-time leading scorer, averaging 30 points per game. His achievements did not go unnoticed in subsequent seasons as he was named the league’s most valuable player for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons. After that, he decided to trade Cleveland for Miami to team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
James found great success with the Miami Heat, making four straight NBA Finals appearances but only winning twice. He was also voted MVP twice before returning to Cleveland in 2014. Cleveland immediately became an NBA championship contender. It was the worst team in the league since James left four years ago.
LeBron James has since won one of his three trips to the NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the franchise’s first title and the city’s first professional sports title in 52 years. He is currently on his fourth trip to the Finals and is hoping to give Cleveland its second NBA title.
LeBron James’ Family – Mom, Dad
LeBron James’ mother, who had him when she was Gloria Marie James is only 16 years old and was described by the athlete as his everything. His biological father has been identified as Anthony McClelland, who was just a casual friend of his mother’s when she conceived him. Due to his absence from James’ life, his mother’s longtime friend Eddie Jackson has acted as a father figure to James despite serving a number of years in prison for fraud and drug dealing.
Who is LeBron James Wife? His sons and daughter (children)
LeBron James is married to his high school sweetheart Savannah Brinson. The couple exchanged vows at a private ceremony in San Diego, California on September 14, 2013.
Together the couple have three children; first a son named LeBron James Jnr. born October 2004, then another son named Bryce Maximus James born June 2007 and finally a daughter named Zhuri James born October 2014.