LeBron James

LeBron James

LeBron James is an American basketball superstar who currently plays for the National Basketball Association (NBA) team “Cleveland Cavaliers”. He is six feet, eight inches tall and weighs 250 pounds. He was born to a 16 year old single mother named Gloria Marie James on December 30, 1984 in Ohio. Gloria sent LeBron to live with the family of a local football coach so he could grow up in a more suitable environment. It was here that LeBron was introduced to basketball at the age of 9. He attended St. Vincent–St. Mary High School where he played basketball for his school team. In his freshman year, his team won the division state title. He had already begun to gain a reputation as an outstanding player, and NBA scouts regularly attended his games to analyze his talent as a future star.

LeBron continued to impress fans and during his sophomore, junior and senior years, he was given the title of “Ohio’s Mr. Basketball” and was also selected to the “USA Today All-USA First Team”. This was no mean accomplishment as he was the first player to achieve both feats at his age and the only one to have won them for three consecutive years. During his junior and senior years, he won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award, being the first high school player to have done so and to have won it for two consecutive years. He also appeared on the covers of SLAM magazine and Sports Illustrated, again unprecedented by anyone his age. After his team’s loss in the division championships, he petitioned the NBA to let him join them despite the fact that he hadn’t graduated high school, which is a requirement to be drafted. His petition was rejected and LeBron returned to his senior year of high school being the most talked about high school basketball player and the centre of enormous amounts of media attention. During this time, he began to use marijuana as a means of stress relief.

He was recruited by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2003-04 season, where he set many records in his first year. This included being the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 or more points in a game, as well as maintaining an average of at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in his first year, which was a feat matched only by basketball legends Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. LeBron renewed his contract by three years in 2006 for $60 million and continued to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers up until June 2010. He won the “Most Valuable Player” (MVP) Award twice in that duration – once in the 2008-09 season and next in the 2009-10 season. On July 1, 2010 LeBron James became a free agent, which was an option granted to him in his 2006 contract. Of the many teams that wished to sign him, including the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron chose to go with Miami Heat. He announced his decision in a special live show on ESPN and the revenue from the show was given to his chosen charities. His decision was not appreciated by many fans, critics and sports analysts, including former players Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

LeBron James played for Miami Heat from July 2010 to June 2014. He was joined by Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, who were also free agents at the time. During his tenure at Miami, the team won two back to back state championships in 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, with some stellar performances from LeBron. He was voted MVP in both of the seasons that Miami won the championships. Although he had signed a 6 year contract, he chose to opt out of it and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers again at the end of June 2014. He signed a 2 year contract for $42.1 million, with the option of returning to free agent status after the 2014-15 season. His return to the Cavaliers has been well received by fans. He has also won two Olympic Gold Medals in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

He has several prominent endorsements such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Nike and Samsung, making him one of the highest paid athletes in the world. He has often been quoted as the world’s most influential athlete, which he has used to raise awareness for issues that he cares about. He has established “The LeBron James Family Foundation” to raise money for various causes. He has also made television appearances by co-hosting the 2007 ESPY Awards with the comedian Jimmy Kimmel as well as hosting the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. He married his high school girlfriend Savannah Brinson in September 2013 and the couple has two sons.


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