American basketball player LeBron James plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. James first became well-known across the nation as the nation’s best high school basketball player. He was named the NBA MVP four times thanks to his exceptional mix of size, quickness, and court vision. Following his 2012 and 2013 Miami Heat championship runs, James returned to Cleveland and helped the team win its first championship in 2016.
James scored eighteen points a night on average as a rookie. With 25 points in the championship game, he led the squad to a Division III state championship. James’s exceptional basketball abilities were well-known, and he was recognized with multiple awards for his achievements.
In his second year of high school, James made the USA Today All-USA First Team. He was the inaugural sophomore to be chosen for this honor. Additionally, his squad won the Division III state championship for a second consecutive year.
James won the Gatorade Player of the Year award and the PARADE magazine’s High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year title the next academic year. James was such a good player at the conclusion of his junior year that he considered turning pro.
James, who made the decision to complete his schooling, had an amazing final season as a player. With a scoring average of 31.6 per game, he contributed to his team’s third state championship. In that same year, the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School squad also achieved the highest national ranking. James would quickly become one of the best players in the National Basketball Association.
James created history in the 2003–04 season by being the first Cavalier player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. At just 20 years old, he also became the youngest player to be awarded this distinction.
In addition, James joined Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson as the only rookies to achieve this record with an average of 20 points per game at this stage.
The next season, James improved upon his previous success and raised his average points per game to 27.2 in the NBA. When he scored more than 50 points in a single game in 2005, he once again created NBA history.
James was a key member of his team’s 2006 playoff victory over the Washingtоn Wizards. In the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Cavaliers faced the Detroit Pistons after that. Even though James averaged 26.6 points per game on average throughout this postseason encounter, his team was unable to win. James was still getting extra credit for his skills even if his team wasn’t winning any games.
James and the Cavaliers came to a new contract agreement in 2006. The next season, they defeated Detroit to win the Eastern Conference, demonstrating that they were more formidable rivals. But the Cavaliers lost four straight games against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, ending their hopes of winning the championship.
James kept assisting the Cavaliers in raising their Eastern Conference status during the 2007–08 campaign. The group advanced to the semifinals before losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics. With an average of 30 points per game—the highest average in the NBA regular season—James outperformed rival players like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson in terms of individual performance.
Sports media and fans started discussing James’ future in the game early in the 2008–09 season. In 2010, James was eligible to become a free agent, and there was a lot of speculation about his future. The New York Knicks were mentioned by certain journalists as a possible suitor for the emerging talent.
James alluded to his upcoming status as a free agent on multiple occasions, but he made sure to play it down. “I am concentrated on winning a title with the team I am currently on… Right now, I’m not thinking about changing,” James said to reporters.
DOWNLOAD THE LEBRON JAMES FACT CARD FROM BIOGRAPHY
Miami Heat Fact Card: Lebron James
James made the announcement that he would be joining the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season shortly after becoming a free agency. Many of his Cleveland supporters saw his departure as a betrayal of their community, and he was not well received there.
Dan Gilbert, the majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, called James’ decision “selfish,” “heartless,” and a “cowardly betrayal” in an open letter he sent shortly after James made his announcement. Unfazed, James scored 26.7 points per game in his debut season with the Heat, finishing second in the league.
James and the Miami Heat saw great success in the 2011–12 campaign. After his team defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, the all-star forward at last won his first championship. James scored 26 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and disheveled 13 assists in the decisive Game 5. After the game, James said to FOX Sports, “I made a difficult decision to leave Cleveland, but I understood what my future was about.” “I knew we had a bright future [in Miami].”
James created NBA history during the 2012–13 season when, on January 16, 2013, at the age of 28, he surpassed Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, who had done so at the age of 29, to become the youngest player to score 20,000 points. He was only the 38th player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. James scored his 20th point of the game with a jump shot in the closing seconds, helping the Heat defeat the Warriors 92–75.
Success followed the Heat through the end of the 2012–13 campaign: Miami defeated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games to capture their second consecutive NBA championship after a fierce, six-game series against the Indiana Pacers to win the Eastern Conference.
Miami faced the Spurs once more in the NBA Finals at the end of the 2013–14 season, but this time they lost to San Antonio in five games.
Go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Following his decision to leave the Heat and take a look at other teams, James declared in July 2014 that he would be joining the Cavaliers again.
James was out for 13 of the 82 regular-season games in 2014–15 due to back and knee issues. When healthy, though, he remained as dominant as ever, averaging 25.3 points and 7.4 assists per contest. James became the first player in over 50 years to make it to the championship round in five straight seasons as he guided the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. Nevertheless, his chances of winning a third championship were dashed by injuries to standout teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, and the Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
The Cavs overcame the distraction of a mid-season coaching change in 2015–16, and they won the playoffs handily to set up a rematch with the Warriors. This was “King James'” sixth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. He scored 41 points in Games 5 and 6, then recorded a triple-double in Game 7 to help the Cavaliers win their first title in franchise history—possibly the greatest accomplishment of his career.
James, who was voted MVP of the Finals, stated, “I returned to our city to bring a championship.” I was aware of my capabilities. I was aware of the lessons I had learned over the previous few years, and I knew that, should the need arise, I would have the necessary components and a working plan to take this franchise back to a level we had never reached. That was the main focus.”
In the subsequent season, James maintained his composure and exercised leadership when needed, leading the Cavaliers to victory in the Eastern Conference and an amazing seventh straight trip to the NBA Finals. This time, the Warriors proved too strong for James and his colleagues, winning the championship in five games, especially with the addition of previous MVP Kevin Durant.
Despite all of his achievements, James made history early in the 2017–18 NBA season when he was disqualified for the first time in his 1,082 career games for shouting at a referee during a win over the Heat in late November.
After an unsuccessful offseason trade that sent Irving to Boston for Isaiah Thomas, the superstar probably felt like yelling a lot throughout a disappointing season, which pushed the Cavaliers to make another big deal before the All-Star break.
James had to work hard to get the club out of the first round of the playoffs after averaging a career-high 9.1 assists in the regular season. In Game 7, he produced an incredible 45 points to destrоy the Pacers. Two rounds later, the scrappy Celtics pushed the Cavs to the brink once more, but James rallied for 81 points in the final two games to seal the series victory and earn his eighth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.
Thanks to James’s 51-point explоsiоn, Game 1 of the rematch with Golden State was close throughout. However, with the score tied in regulation, Cleveland player J.R. Smith strangely dribbled the clock out, allowing the Warriors to win in overtime. The Warriors easily won the following three games to win their third championship in four years, and that was the Cavaliers’ greatest opportunity to gain an advantage over their opponents.
James later disclosed that he had played out the series with a fractured right hand after striking a whiteboard following the Game 1 loss, which raised concerns about his future with the franchise.
Los Angeles Lakers
With the signing of a 4-year, $153.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, a legendary team that boasted Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson among its all-time greats, James announced on July 1, 2018, that he was embarking on the next chapter of his career.
By the middle of the season, the positive energy had faded as the Lakers struggled through 17 games without their injured star.
James stated, “If you’re still allowing distractions to affect the way you play, this is the wrong franchise to be a part of and you should just come in and be like, ‘Listen, I can’t do this.'” in late February 2019, when the team was still struggling. James also accused his teammates of losing focus due to trade rumors.
James’ personal records of 13 consecutive postseason appearances and eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances were broken when the Lakers were formally declared out of the playoff race in March 2019. The Lakers revealed that their best player would miss the last six games due to a chronic groin ailment, capping a challenging debut season in Los Angeles.
The arrival of athletic big man Anthony Davis to the team helped things get off to a much better start the next season. James, who became the first player to post a triple-double against every NBA team in November 2019, led the Lakers’ ascent to the top of the standings.
James received recognition as the AP Male Athlete of the Decade the following month, adding yet another trophy to his already impressive collection.
Rings and Championships
James has part in eight NBA titles in a row between the 2010–11 and 2018–19 seasons. He won three championships in that span of time, once with the Cavaliers (2015–16) and twice with the Heat (2011–12 and 2012–13).
MVP Awards & All-Star Games
James was selected for the NBA All-Star Game for the first time in 2005 and would go on to earn a spot in the annual showcase in each of the next 15 seasons.
In January 2018, the NBA announced that James and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry had topped the ballots and would serve as captains for that year’s All-Star Game.
In 2006, James was named the Most Valuable Player in the NBA All-Star Game, a feat he would repeat in 2008 and 2018. James has also been named NBA MVP four times, in seasons 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
Stats and Points
In January 2018, at age 33, James surpassed Bryant as the youngest player to accumulate 30,000 career points and became the seventh player in NBA history to achieve that milestone. The feat put him just more than 8,000 points shy of Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record of 38,387 points.
In 2019, James surpassed Jordan’s career tally of 32,292 points to move into fourth place on the all-time list. In January 2020, he eclipsed Bryant’s total of 33,643 points to slide into third place, one night before his predecessor’s shоcking deаth in a helicopter аccident.
After 16 NBA seasons, James’ stats included regular season per-game averages of:
27.2 points
38.6 minutes
0.736 free-throw percentage
0.343 3-point field-goal percentage
0.504 field-goal percentage
1.2 оffensive rebounds
6.2 defensive rebounds
7.2 assists
0.8 blocks
1.6 steals
3.5 turnovers
Olympic Games
James competed on the U.S. Olympic basketball team during three Summer Olympic Games, in 2004, 2008 and 2012. James made his Olympic debut at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, Greece. He and his teammates won bronze medals after defeating Lithuania. Argentina took home the gold after beating Italy in the finals.
In the summer of 2008, James traveled to Beijing, China, to play with the likes of Bryant, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade on the U.S. Olympic basketball team. This time around the U.S. team brought home the gold after defeating Spain in the final round.
James competed at his third Olympic Games in 2012, at the Summer Olympics in London, along with Durant, Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and several other top players. The U.S. basketball team took the gold medal — James’ second consecutive Olympic gold.