LeBron James gushed over “the real MVP,” his wife Savannah James, in a speech on Thursday, when the Lakers held a pregame ceremony to honor him as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“My beautiful wife has been, I mean she’s the real MVP if you wanna be completely honest,” James said. “She’s actually the all-time leading scorer if you want to be completely honest.”
The 38-year-old James thanked his family and called his wife, sons Bronny and Bryce, daughter Zhuri and mother Gloria his “starting five.”
James took the microphone at Crypto.com Arena prior to the Lakers’ 115-106 loss to the Bucks. The 19-time All-Star did not play due to an ankle injury.
During his speech, James also spoke about the athletes he looked up to along his journey that gave him inspiration.
Savannah James during a ceremony honoring LeBron James’ becoming NBA’s all-time leading scorer prior to a game against the Bucks at Crypto.com Arena on Feb.
“…I had dreams of being able one day to be able to throw no-look passes like Magic Johnson, to be able to shoot fadeaways like Michael Jordan, to be able to have a crossover like Allen Iverson, to be able to have an afro and be able to jump in the dunk contest like Kobe Bryant,” James said.
The Lakers star went on to share the story of the moment he “fell in love with basketball,” when his mother got him a Little Tikes basketball hoop for Christmas in 1988, just days before his fourth 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day.
The ceremony included a pedestal that held the basketball James used when he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in a 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
James topped the NBA’s all-time scoring list on a fadeaway jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Abdul-Jabbar sat courtside as James made history.
Savannah — who has been by James’ side long before he signed his first NBA contract with the Cavaliers in 2003 — spoke about his hard work and dedication to the game in a tribute video by the Lakers on Tuesday night.
“Hi my love, I am here to congratulate you on becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer,” Savannah said in the video, which included messages from the couple’s kids and James’ mother. “I am so proud of you. I witness day-in and day-out the hard work, the sacrifice, and the professionalism that you put into this game every single day.
“I know how hard you work. I know that this was not something that you set out to do, but you’ve done it and you should congratulate yourself, you should celebrate yourself. You deserve all the flowers, you deserve all the respect and I just want to tell you how proud of you I am. It couldn’t be happening to a better, more dedicated to the game person. Congratulations, again, I love you.”
