LeBron James with basketball in his hand

LeBron James: Career, Injuries, Controversies & Net Worth

LeBron Raymone James, aka LeBron James, is an American basketball player. He is also known by his nickname ‘King James.’

James has won the NBA championship 4 times with 3 different teams and currently plays for Los Angeles Lakers in NBA.

He is considered one of the greatest small forwards ever to grace the game.

LeBron James smiling during game
LeBron James in Cleveland Cavaliers jersey Source: Wikipedia

LeBron James was born in Akron, Ohio, on 30th December 1984 to parents Anthony McClelland and Gloria Marie James. He was raised by his mother alone.

Quick Facts

Here are quick facts about LeBron James:

 

 

 

Full Name LeBron Raymone James Sr.
Birth Date December 30, 1984
Birth Place Arkon, Ohio
Residence LA (Currently)
Religion Christian
Nationality American
Ethnicity African American
Hobbies Reading, Listening to Music, American Football
Food Habit Non-vegetarian
Education St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
Zodiac Sign Capricorn
Father’s Name Anthony McClelland
Mother’s Name Gloria Marie James
Siblings Aaron McClelland
Age 39 years old
Height 6’9″ (2m)
Reach Not Available
Weight 113 kg (249 lbs)
Eye Color Black
Hair Color Black
Body type Bulky Athletic
Tattoos 24
Profession Professional Basketball player
Associated Teams Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, USA National Team
Individual Awards NBA MVP four times, in 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12, and 2012/13 seasons
Marital Status Married
Wife’s Name Savannah Brinson
Active Years
2003-Present
Career Stats
1366: 38.2: 27.1
Children LeBron Jr, Bryce Maximus James, Zhuri James
Net Worth 850 million US Dollars
Social Media Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
Website LeBron James
Merch  Signed Jersey, Rookie Card
Last Update 2024

Nicknames

He has been given different nicknames throughout his career.

The most renowned is ‘King James.’ Also, ‘The Chosen One,’ ‘Bron-Bron,’ ‘The Little Emperor’ and ‘Arkon Hammer’ have been ascribed to him.

Age, Height, and Weight

The renowned basketball superstar is 36 years of age. His height is 6′ 9″ and weighs about113 kgs.

He takes full advantage of his height and weight on the court.

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Early Life and Childhood

James had a difficult childhood as his biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-convict and completely indifferent to parenting.

He had to be raised by his mother, Gloria James, alone. The situation was dire as Gloria was only 16 when she gave birth to LeBron and had no stable job.

So, LeBron had to move from one place to another frequently. As a result, James had a hard time making friends as well.

But he overcame all these difficulties by focusing on his interest: basketball and football.

LeBron has one step-brother Aaron McClelland Gamble with whom he is not so close.

Personal Life

The high school superstar married his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson, on September 14, 2003, after proposing on New Year’s Day of 2012.

The couple has given birth to two boys and one girl.

The eldest was born in October 2004 James and was named LeBron Jr. The couple welcomed their second son, Bryce Maximus James, on June 14, 2007, and their third child and only daughter, Zhuri James, on October 22, 2014.

James is a family man. He constantly shows their importance in his life and career through social media posts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLBPm3kjXgq/

LeBron is also known for expressing his love to the family with lavish gifts. He gifted his wife a Ferrari for her 30th birthday and gifted his mother a Porsche for her birthday in 2014.

Bronny James (LeBron Jr)

LeBron’s eldest son Bronny James is trying to follow in the footsteps of his father.

He currently plays high school level basketball for Sienna Canyon High School in the point guard position.

The basketball world closely monitors him as he carries the honorable name. Many people have already started comparing father and son’s high school stats.

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Education

LeBron received his high school degree from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. He did not join college.

Career

How it all began

James showed keen interest and was blessed with natural talent and instinct for basketball.

Consequently, James was viewed as a basketball prodigy early in elementary school. Also, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School selected him for its basketball team in 1999.

With an overwhelming stat of 2,657 points, 892 rebounds, and 523 assists, James helped his team win three Division III state titles in the 4 years he spent in high school.

LeBron James in the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine nicknamed as The Chosen One
LeBron James on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine
Image Source: Flickr

LeBron also raked in individual awards and recognition with PARADE magazine’s High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year.

Cleveland Cavaliers

James attracted the eyes of every team and was the next big thing waiting to happen in basketball.

Subsequently, the high school star was selected by Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft right after he finished high school with a contract of $ 19 million for 4 years.

He had built a tremendous hype around him, and that added more pressure to perform.

But the upcoming star lived up to the hype, scoring an average of 20 points per game in the 2003/04 season, and won the award of NBA Rookie of the year.

James became the youngest player to achieve this award at the age of 20 and the first from the Cavaliers.

LeBron continuously improved his performance in the coming years and became the youngest player to score more than 50 points in a game in 2005.

In 2006, he signed a new contract with the Cavaliers and went from strength to strength.

In the 2007/2008 season, he achieved an overpowering average score of 30 points per game.

Despite his consistent stellar performance, James could not help the Cavaliers secure the NBA title; however, they tremendously strengthened their team and came close to securing the title a few times.

Miami Heat

James’ contract expired with the Cavaliers in 2010; he became a free agent and joined Miami Heat for the 2010/2011 season.

This caused a serious backlash from Cavaliers fans stating LeBron’s decision as cowardly and a downright betrayal.

lebron james in a miami heat jersey
LeBron James in a Miami Heat jersey during Wizards v/s Heat on 03/30/11 Source: Wikipedia

In his first season, Heats finished 2nd with James scoring 26.7 on average. In the 2011/2012 season, James won his first NBA title with Miami Heat beating Oklahoma City Thunder in Finals.

LeBron also won the season and final MVP. Indecisive Game 5, he scored 26 points and made 13 assists.

The star player was determined as he lost after coming so close to the title in his first season with Heats.

James and Heat repeated the following season’s success and won the NBA title for 2nd year, consecutively outperforming San Antonio Spurs in 7 games in the 2012/13 season.

LeBron’s performance remained unmatched, and he made history again as he became the youngest player ever to score 20000 points in the 2012/13 season.

In the same season, Miami won 27 consecutive games in which James was indispensable. However, the Heat lost to San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals in the 2013/14 season.

Return to Cleveland Cavaliers

James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014 after opting out of their contract with Heats. But the superstar struggled through knee and back injuries and missed 13 games that season.

But LeBron brought his top game after recovering from injury and led his team to the NBA finals.

It was his 5th consecutive NBA finals. However, the Cavaliers lost to Golden State Warriors in 6 games in the finals.

The cavaliers came back even stronger next season and secured the NBA title for the first time.

James played a pivotal role in this achievement and even scored a triple-double in Game 7 against the warriors.

However, the following season, James could only lead the Cavaliers up to the NBA finals.

In the 2017/18 season, again with terrific individual performance, he secured the Cavaliers’ place in the final but the Cavaliers once again lost in the Finals to Golden State Warriors.

Los Angeles Lakers

James announced his move to LA Lakers in July 2018. But he missed the first 17 games because of the injury and had a forgettable season as the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention.

The Lakers got to the flying start next season, the 2019/20 season, and went to secure the NBA championship.

USA National Team

James has represented the USA in various international tournaments, including the Olympics and FIBA World Championship.

You can see how good LeBron is from this video.

He won gold medals with the USA in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship

Salary, Life Style, and Net Worth

James currently earns an average of about $ 39 million per season with the Lakers.
He also has other earning sources such as brand endorsements, sponsorship, investments in the entertainment industry, soccer clubs, clothing, shoe retail, etc.

The net worth of LeBron James is $500 million as of February 2021.

James lives a lavish lifestyle but is also cautious in spending as he is eyeing to become a billionaire.

King James is very much into cars and has a jaw-dropping collection of cars.

The cars in his collection include Porsche 918 Spyder, Rolls Royce Phantom, custom Kia K900 Luxury Sedan, Ferrari 599, Ferrari 458 spider, Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, etc.
LeBron has acquired many properties as well over the years.

In 2020, LeBron bought a $36.8 million mansion in Beverly Hills. He also has two lavish mansions in LA.

In 2018, James bought his second mansion in LA worth $23 and a house in his hometown Arkon, Ohio.

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Social Media

James is very active in social media. He has Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

LeBron regularly posts pictures giving us a peek into his daily life.

The basketball superstar’s posts mainly include court-side photos with teammates, sharing his thoughts on the game and his family.

Along with that, James promotes his brands and business ventures through social media.

LeBron also wishes and congratulates people from various fields on social media.

The all-time great also does not shy away from voicing his thoughts on political scenarios. Reportedly he earns $300,000 per post.

Instagram: Over 81 million Followers

Facebook: Over 25 million Followers

Twitter: Over 49 million Followers

YouTube: Over 33k Followers

Alleged Affair

James was accused of cheating on his wife and high school sweetheart with an Instagram model named Sofia Jamora in 2020.

Sofia was exposed by her friend Erza Haliti, former Miss Idaho, through social media. Sofia immediately deleted all the courtside photos of her from her Instagram.

Back in 2016 also, he was accused of having an extramarital affair with Rachel Bush which proved to be a false allegation.

Brand Endorsements

Nike signed him for seven years deal for $90 million straight from high school when he hadn’t even played a single NBA game.

In December 2015, James signed a lifetime deal with Nike, expected to be worth $ 1 billion.

Furthermore, under his kitty, he has brands like Beats, Intel, Sprite (Coca-Cola), and Kia.

Diversifying in Business

James is co-owner of ‘Unknown,’ which trades in designer clothes and shoes. The basketball superstar also owns a piece of Liverpool Football Club.

He purchased a 2% stake in the club at $6.5 million, and he can be seen wearing Liverpool’s jersey and supporting them.

Furthermore, Fenway Sports Group (FSG) has added James as its partner. FSG is a parent company of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club. This signifies LeBron now has an ownership stake in these teams.

Adding new partners, FSG is set to acquire more sports teams.

LeBron has also formed an entertainment company called ‘The SpringHill Company’ along with his business partner Maverick Carter.

This company has produced projects like ‘More than a game,’ ‘Shut Up and Dribble’, and many more.

The shrewd businessman is also a founding investor in a pizza chain called Blaze Pizza and is a part of an investment group that invested in ‘The Hell’s Kitchen office building.

LeBron James: Controversies

James sparked a controversy when he criticized a tweet of Morey, GM of the Houston Rockets. In the tweet, Morey supported Hong Kong protestors. Many people slammed him for his insensible comments.

He clarified his comments stating that he wasn’t criticizing the protests but the tweet’s time and situation.

It was not the right time to tweet as teams were en route to China for an exhibition game and when NBA itself hadn’t commented anything.

The press conferences in China were canceled, and broadcasts of many NBA games were canceled.

LeBron James: Injuries

James has suffered various injuries throughout his career.

His major injuries include Groin Strain, Hamstring Strain, Multiple right and left ankle sprains, Elbow Strain and Bone Contusion, Back Spasms and Strain, Knee Strains, etc.

In the 2009/10 season, LeBron missed two games with ankle sprains and sat on the bench for 4 games at the end of the season to cure his right elbow completely.

In the 2012/13 season, James had to miss 5 games due to a strained right hamstring.

He missed 13 games for Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014/15 season because of back and knee problems.

James missed the first 17 games in the 2018/19 season for the Lakers because of a groin injury. He also missed the last 6 games of the same season because of a lingering groin injury.

Despite all these injuries, LeBron doesn’t miss many games and is known for playing through injuries.

As of 2018, the three times NBA champions played 94% of possible games throughout his career.

LeBron James: Personal Achievements

  • Participated in 8 straight NBA championships and won four championship rings.
  • Won twice with Miami Heats and once each with Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
  • Selected for NBA All-Star Game for 16 consecutive seasons starting from 2005.
  • Won NBA MVP four times, in 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12, and 2012/13 seasons
  • Became the third highest point scorer in January 2020, surpassing Bryant’s 33,643 points.
  • Named Time Magazine’s 2020 Athlete of the Year

Charity

James runs ‘The LeBron James Family Foundation’ with its ‘I Promise Program’  and supports more than 1500 students and their entire families, providing them fundamental resources.

Similarly, I Promise Housing provides long-term housing to children and their families.

FAQs

Is LeBron James being traded?

The rumors regarding James’ trade have been going around for a while now. However, no official trade request has been issued yet.

Why did LeBron leave Miami Heat?

LeBron won two NBAs with Heats consecutively. But he also wanted to show that he’s capable of winning titles with other teams as well.

Is LeBron better than MJ?

LeBron has better all-around statistics than Michael Jordan. But in each section of the basketball, their statistics vary. So, who is better depends upon the viewer and what he considers to be a more important aspect of the game.

Has LeBron James retired?

During an interview in February 2022, LeBron James turned down rumors regarding his retirement.

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