Biography
TEAM: Los Angeles Lakers POSITION: Small Forward
HT/WT: 6′ 9″, 250 lbs DOB: 12/30/1984 (37)
DRAFT INFO: 2003: Rd 1, Pk 1 (CLE) STATUS: Out
EXPERIENCE: 18th Season BIRTHPLACE: Akron, OH
Career History
Los Angeles Lakers: 2018-CURRENT (4 SEASONS)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 2003-2010, 2014-2018 (11 SEASONS)
Miami Heat: 2010-2014 (4 SEASONS)
Career Highlights
2xAll-NBA 3rd Team (2022, 2019)
3xAll-NBA 2nd Team (2021, 2007, 2005)
4xFinals MVP (2020, 2016, 2013, 2012)
13xAll-NBA 1st Team (2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006)
3xAll-Star MVP (2018, 2008, 2006)
All-Defensive 2nd Team (2014)
4xMVP (2013, 2012, 2010, 2009)
5xAll-Defensive 1st Team (2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009)
Rookie of the Year (2004)
All-Rookie 1st Team (2004)
LeBron James (LeBron Raymone James Sr.) is an American professional Basketball player, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio, U.S. His mother, Gloria Marie James, was a working mother, while his father, Anthony McClelland, has a criminal record. He is a Basketball legend and is considered in the same G.O.A.T debate as Michael Jordan and Karim Abdul Jabbar.
So far, he has won four NBA championships, four NBA Finals MVP awards, four NBA MVP awards, three All-Star MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals. He has the most points scored in the play-offs, has second-most career points, and the seventh-most career assists. He also holds the record for most appearances on the All-NBA Team a record (18 times) and has been selected as NBA All-Star a record 18 times as well. He was selected for NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Professional Career
Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-2010)
LeBron James was selected the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft by his hometown team, Cleveland Cavaliers. In his very first regular-season game against Sacramento Kings, he announced his arrival in style by delivering the best ever performance by a prep-to-pro player in his debut, scoring 25 points. He became the first Cleveland Cavaliers player to receive the NBA Rookie of the Year Award at the end of the 2003-04 season. As a rookie, he ended the season with final averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, becoming only the third player in the history of the league to achieve that.
James earned his first NBA All-Star Game selection in the 2004-05 season, contributing 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, stats that even the rival coaches couldn’t ignore and be pivotal in winning the Eastern Conference. In the same season, he was included in his first All-NBA Team, with final averages of 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He was again named NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in the 2006 All-Star game, leading the East to victory with 29 points.
In the 2006-07 season, he delivered one of the best performances ever in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against pistons, notching 48 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, scoring 29 of Cleveland’s last 30 points. ESPN, in 2012, regarded the performance as the fourth greatest in modern NBA playoff history while commentator Steve Kerr described it as “Jordan-esque”. In the 2007-08 season, James has named All-Star Game MVP again for the second time, courtesy of a 27-point, 8-rebound, and 9-assist performance. In the same season, he surpassed Brad Daugherty as the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer.
Miami Heat (2010–2014)
On July 1, 2010, James became an unrestricted free agent. Several teams were interested in his signing including the Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and Cavaliers. On July 8, James announced in a live charity show that he would be signing for Miami Heat. The decision was mainly influenced by fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade’s decision to join Miami Heat and a desire to win his first-ever NBA championship, which seemed impossible with Cleveland Cavaliers.
Miami Heat, though qualified for the Finals, didn’t perform that well and lost the Finals in six games to Dallas Mavericks. LeBron was on the receiving end of most of the heat and criticism as he averaged only three points in the fourth quarter of the series. However, the next two seasons were full of good news as Back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. His first full postseason with Miami Heat was late ranked as the second-best in modern NBA history by ESPN, averaging 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. 2013-14 was his last season as a Miami Heat player, in which he scored his career-high and franchise-record 61 points in a game against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Home-Coming: Return to the Cavaliers (2014–2018)
Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2014, he expressed the desire to return to the Cavaliers, and on July 12, he officially signed with them. The Cavaliers also acquired Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves and hence a trio was formed with Kyrie Irving as the third piece in the puzzle. In 2016, the Cavaliers qualified for the Finals to face the Warriors, who were coming off a record-setting 73-win season. In the Finals, the Cavalries won 4-3 against the Warriors to end the city’s 52 years drought, also becoming the first team in the history of the NBA to come back from a 3–1 series deficit in the Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers (2018–present)
After signing with LA Lakers in 2018 after becoming an unrestricted free agent, his agent in an interview with a sports magazine 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.” Despite his injury problems, he won his fourth NBA Championship with LA Lakers in 2020.
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