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 .
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.
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.
