LeBron James

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio, to 16-year-old Gloria Marie James. His father, Anthony McClelland, was not involved in his life. During his childhood, the family often struggled, moving between apartments while Gloria sought steady employment. She allowed him to live with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach who introduced James to basketball when he was nine. James began playing organized basketball in the fifth grade and later competed in AAU basketball for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. The team, led by James and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee, called themselves the "Fab Four" and agreed to attend high school together at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. As a freshman, James averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds per game, leading the Fighting Irish to a 27–0 season and the Division III state title. As a sophomore, he averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 steals per game, becoming the first sophomore named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team. During his junior year, James appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first high school basketball underclassman to do so, and became the first junior to be named male basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year. In his senior year, he averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game, was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team for an unprecedented third consecutive year, and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

In Their Own Story

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. In his first regular season game, James scored 25 points in a 106–92 loss to the Sacramento Kings, setting an NBA record for the most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut performance. At the conclusion of the 2003–04 season, James became the first Cavalier to receive the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and only the third player in league history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game as a rookie. In the 2004–05 season, James earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection. After winning back-to-back MVPs in 2009 and 2010, he joined the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2010, a controversial move announced in the television special The Decision. With the Heat, James won his first two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, earning MVP and Finals MVP honors both years. After four seasons in Miami, he returned to Cleveland in 2014, leading the Cavaliers to their first-ever championship in 2016, ending the Cleveland sports curse. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, winning another title in 2020 and becoming the first player to win Finals MVP with three different teams.

Reader's Guide

LeBron James holds several individual honors, including four NBA MVP awards, four Finals MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year award, three All-Star Game MVP awards, the inaugural NBA Cup MVP, and the Olympics MVP in the 2024 Summer Olympics. He is a record 22-time All-Star and 21-time All-NBA selection (including a record 13 First Team selections), and has made six All-Defensive Teams. The oldest active player in the NBA, he holds records for the most seasons played with 23, the most games played, the most minutes played, and the most field goals made in league history. In addition to ranking fourth in NBA career assists and sixth in NBA career steals, James is the first player in NBA history to accumulate $1 billion in earnings as an active player. He has been listed by Forbes as one of the world's ten highest-paid athletes fifteen times. He was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2005, 2013, 2017, and 2019—the most selections for a professional athlete. Off the court, James has earned further wealth and fame from numerous endorsement contracts.

Did You Know?

• LeBron James was born to 16-year-old Gloria Marie James; his father, Anthony McClelland, was not involved in his life.
• He was introduced to basketball at age nine by Frank Walker, a local youth football coach.
• James appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior, becoming the first high school basketball underclassman to do so.
• He was the first player in NBA history to accumulate $1 billion in earnings as an active player.
• James has been among Time's 100 most influential people in the world four times (2005, 2013, 2017, 2019), the most selections for a professional athlete.