The Evolution of LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio to Gloria Marie James. Growing up, LeBron often lived with family and friends in the hope that he would be in a more stable environment

James attended St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, where he quickly became the best high school basketball player in the country and was considered by many to be the greatest high school basketball player ever. Famously, on a 2002 Sports Illustrated cover, he was deemed the “Chosen One.”

James’ story is not all about basketball. He met his wife, Savannah in high school and the two started dating while she attended a rival school. The two got married in September 2013 and have three kids: Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri.

LeBron decided to skip college and immediately declare for the NBA once he was done with high school. He was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. He would go on to win the 2003-2004 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

In his fourth year in the NBA, LeBron led the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Finals, where he faced the perennial contenders Detroit Pistons. In Game 5 of that series, he tallied 48 points, capped off by an incredible 4th quarter and overtime were he scored 25 points straight.

The Cavaliers eventually prevailed in the six games to the Pistons and went on to face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, where they would be swept.

After winning back-to-back MVPs in 2009 and 2010, LeBron was unable to reach the Finals again during his first stint in Cleveland. He lost to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. It was the last time he would play for the Cavs until 2014.

In the summer of 2010, LeBron James became the most sought-after free agent in NBA history. He held a nationally televised event to announce the team he would sign with, announcing that he would be “taking his talents to south beach” and joining the Miami Heat along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

In his first year with the Heat, the “Heatles” made the Finals but were unable to win it, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. James was especially bad in that series. Many questioned his ability to perform in big games and lead a team.

In the 2012 playoffs, James and the Heat were determined to win a championship but had to get through the veteran Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. After going down in the series 3-2, LeBron had an iconic game 6 performance, tallying 45 points and 15 rebounds while shooting 73 percent from the field!

LeBron achieved what some thought he never could, winning an NBA championship against the young Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals, where he also took home Finals MVP.

In 2013, LeBron and the Heat did it again, beating the San Antonio Spurs in a thrilling seven-game series. James took home his second Finals MVP as well.

After losing to the Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals, James was once again a free agent. Instead of doing another “Decision” Bron elected to keep it subtle, and returned to his hometown of Ohio to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers

After losing to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals, the Cavs were focused on getting their revenge during the 2016 Finals. But, things didn’t quite go as planned after they went down 3-1 in the series. From that point on, James was masterful in games five, six and seven, and led his team to a series win. The Cavs became the first team in Finals history to win the championship after being down 3-1. The win also delivered Cleveland its first championship in 50 years.

After four years in Cleveland, Bron was on the move again in 2018, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

After trading for Anthony Davis in the summer of 2019, the Lakers became the favorite to win the 2020 NBA championship. They were well on their way during the season, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the season was postponed. When it returned to the Disney bubble, they cruised to an NBA Finals win against the Miami Heat.

In June 2022, LeBron became the first active NBA player to become a billionaire. He joined Michael Jordan as the only NBA player to ever achieve the feet.

After 20 years in the NBA, at the age of 28, LeBron broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record as the all-time scorer in NBA history.

James’ oldest son, Bronny, was drafted with the 55th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. James has always been open about wanting to play with his son in the league, and it just became a reality.