Interesting and True Facts About LeBron James

LeBron James, at the current age of 37, looks just as dominant as ever on the basketball court. And while there has been much speculation regarding his eventual retirement, “The King” continues to showcase his greatness day-in and day-out.

Below, we are going to review some of the best, most interesting and true facts about LeBron James. From his younger years, to his current time spent in the league, to his personal and financial life, LeBron James is a legend in his own right and few, if any, players can ever fully surpass his basketball greatness and acumen.

Facts About LeBron James Early Life

• LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984
• His full name is LeBron Raymone James Sr.
• LeBron James was born in Akron, Ohio and continues to be loyal to his hometown and home state
• He was born to Gloria Marie James and Anthony McClelland
• His mother, Gloria, was just 16 years old at the time of his birth
• In addition, his mother often found it difficult to find stable work
• This lead to the family moving from apartment to apartment, usually in the less desirable neighborhoods in Akron
• His father, Anthony, however, had an extensive criminal record and was not involved in his life
• And when Gloria realized that her son would be better off in a more stable family environment, she allowed him to move in with the family of Frank Walker
• Frank Walker was a local youth football coach and was the first person to teach LeBron James basketball
• In fact, Frank Walker would teach LeBron about basketball when he was just nine years old
• And in the fifth grade, LeBron first began playing organized basketball
• Soon after, he would join and play for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars
• Led by LeBron and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee, the team saw much success
• And dubbed themselves the “fab four”
• Due to their closeness, the four friends promised to attend the same high school as one another
• They, in a controversial move, chose to attend St.Vincent-St. Mary High School, which was a predominantly white high school

Facts About LeBron James in High School

• As a freshman at St.Vincent-St. Mary High School, LeBron averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game
• The St.Vincent-St. Mary High School Fighting Irish would go 27-0 in his freshman year, the only boys high school basketball team in Ohio to do so that year
• They would win the Division III state title
• As a sophomore, James averaged 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, with 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game
• Due to the team’s popularity, they often had to play at the University of Akron’s Rhodes Arena, with 5,492 seats, to satisfy ticket demands
• As a sophomore, the team finished 26-1 and won the state championship once more
• James was selected as Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team, the first sophomore to be selected to either
• Before his junior year in high school he was featured on Slam magazine
• Writer Ryan Jones of Slam wrote that he is, “the best high school basketball player in America right now”
• And during the season he also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the first high school basketball player to do so

• He was again named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team
• In addition, he became the first high school junior to be named male basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year
• After his junior year, James unsuccessfully petitioned for a change to the NBA’s draft eligibility rules in an attempt to enter the 2002 NBA draft
• As a senior, James and the Fighting Irish traveled across the country to play a number of nationally ranked teams
• Many of these games were nationally televised by ESPN and Time Warner Cable offered the programs to subscribers on pay-per-view
• James averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game as a senior
• He was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team for an unprecedented third consecutive year
• He was also named to the Gatorade National Player of the Year for a second year in a row

• James though, was not without some controversy, for his 18th birthday he accepted a Hummer H2 from his mother who had secured a loan for the vehicle by utilizing her sons future earning power as an NBA superstar
• In addition, James accepted two throwback jerseys worth $845 from an urban clothing store in exchange for posing for pictures. This violated the Ohio High School Athletic Association rules and would eventually lead to a two game suspension
• However, as a senior, LeBron and the Fighting Irish would go on to win the Division II championship
• And, in addition to playing basketball, James played football while in high school as a wide receiver
• He was recruited by several Division I powerhouses, including Notre Dame
• After his sophomore year, he was named first team all-state, and as a junior, he helped lead the Fighting Irish to the state semifinals

Facts About LeBron James in the NBA

• LeBron James was selected by his hometown, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft
• In his first regular game in the NBA, against the Sacramento Kings, he scored 25 points, setting an NBA record for most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut performance
• He would win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, the first Cavalier to ever do so
• In his second year in the league, he earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection
• Then Denver Nugget’s coach George Karl would state on James, “It’s weird talking about a 20-year-old kid being a great player, but he is a great player … He’s the exception to almost every rule.”
• At the 2006 All-Star Game, James led the East team to victory with 29 points and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player
• And in the 2006 NBA season, LeBron would come in second in MVP voting, losing out to Steve Nash
• He would also lead the Cavaliers to the playoffs for the first time since 1998
• During the 2006 offseason, James signed a three-year, $60.4 million contract with the Cavaliers with the contract taking effect beginning with the 2007–08 NBA season
• In the 2007 season, LeBron would lead the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, where they would lose to the San Antonio Spurs
• In February of the 2007–08 season, James was named All-Star Game MVP for the second time

• At the end of the 2008-09 NBA season, LeBron finished second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award votes and made his first NBA All-Defensive Team
• He also became only the fourth post-merger player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in a single season
• That same season, he would earn his first regular season MVP award, also becoming the first Cavalier to do so
• On July 1, 2010, LeBron James became an unrestricted free agent
• In a move that would sour relations he had in Cleveland and much of the NBA, he would hold a press conference, titled The Decision, on ESPN to announce his intentions to join the Miami Heat
• LeBron, along with other superstars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, would all join the Miami Heat
• James decided to join with Bosh and Wade in part so that he could shoulder less of the offensive load; he thought that his improved teammates would give him a better chance of winning an NBA championship than had he stayed in Cleveland
• Due to how James announced his decision, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert published an open letter to fans in which he aggressively denounced James’s actions
• In addition, many Cavaliers fans posted videos showing themselves burning James jerseys they owned
• Former NBA players, including Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, were also critical of James, condemning him for joining with Bosh and Wade in Miami and not trying to win a championship as “the man”
• Due to these decisions, James quickly went from one of the most admired athletes to one of the most disliked

• With his first season with Miami, James would admit that the constant negativity surrounding the team made him play with an angrier demeanor than in years past
• However, in his first year with the Miami Heat and with teammates Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the big three would make it to the NBA Finals, losing to the Dallas Mavericks
• In the summer before the 2011-12 NBA season, James worked with Hakeem Olajuwon to work on his post up game
• James revealed that during the lockout he received contract offers to play professional football from the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks
• In the 2011-12 NBA season, James would win his third MVP
• The Miami Heat would also win the NBA championship and LeBron would be named the Finals MVP
• And again in the 2012-12 NBA season, the Heat would win the NBA championship and LeBron would once more be named the Finals MVP
• On June 25, 2014, James opted out of his contract with the Heat, and on July 1, he officially became an unrestricted free agent
• And on July 11, he would officially re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers
• During the 2014-15 NBA season, the Cavaliers, led by LeBron James would reach the NBA Finals but would lose to the Golden State Warriors
• And in the 2015-16 NBA season, the Cavaliers would once more reach the NBA Finals, this time claiming victory over the Warriors
• Cleveland’s win would be the city’s first professional sports title in 52 years and becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit in the Finals
• LeBron James would be named the unanimous Finals MVP

• On June 29, 2018, James opted out of his contract with the Cavaliers and became an unrestricted free agent
• And on July 1, it was revealed that James would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers
• In an interview with Sports Illustrated, James’s agent Rich Paul explained: “In 2010, when he went to Miami, it was about championships. In 2014, when he went back to Cleveland, it was about delivering on a promise. In 2018, it was just about doing what he wants to do.”
• In the 2019-20 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron, would defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals
• His fourth NBA championship and fourth Finals MVP award. At 35 years and 287 days old, he became the second-oldest player in league history to win the award and the only player in NBA history to win the award with three different franchises

Personal Life Facts About LeBron James

• LeBron James married his high school sweetheart Savannah Brinson on September 14, 2013, in San Diego, California
• LeBron and Savannah have three children together
• James purchased a three-story mansion in Coconut Grove which overlooks the Biscayne Bay for $9 million
• In November 2015, James bought a 9,350 square-foot East Coast-style mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles for about $21 million
• And in December 2017, he purchased another home in Brentwood for $23 million
• In January 2009, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic discovered a growth in the right side of James’s jaw. A benign jaw tumor, the surgery took five hours to remove
• James rescued fellow basketball player Carmelo Anthony from the water during a boating excursion in the Bahamas with Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul when Anthony was carried away from the boat by the current
• James invests heavily in his health, reportedly having spent $1.5 million a year to pay for personal chefs and trainers, as well as physical therapies of recovery. He has a heavy exercise regimen and dietary habits that some consider atypical for a top athlete
• In 2017, Forbes named him one of the world’s most influential athletes
• In 2017, he was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world
• In March 2008, James became the first black man, as well as the third man overall after Richard Gere and George Clooney, to appear on the cover of Vogue

Business, Money, and Philanthropy Facts About LeBron James

• LeBron has published one book, titled, Promise: We are Family
• James has signed numerous endorsement contracts, including with Audemars Piguet, Beats by Dre, Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Brands, McDonald’s, Nike, and State Farm
• He was granted a minority stake in the English Premier League football club Liverpool
• In 2014, James realized a profit of more than $30 million as part of Apple’s acquisition of Beats Electronics
• In 2012, Jame made an investment of less than $1 million in the Pasadena-based fast casual chain Blaze Pizza; his investment had grown to $25 million by 2017
• In February 2019, it was revealed that James would executive produce rapper 2 Chainz’s new album Rap or Go to the League, further bridging the closeness between the NBA and the world of rap
• In November 2020, James became an angel investor of the tequila and mezcal company Lobos 1707
• In 2021, James joined Fenway Sports Group as a partner, making him a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox, New England Sports Network, RFK Racing, and Liverpool F.C.