LeBron James is a pro basketball player. He plays in the NBA. His nickname is King James. As of November 2026, he is very tall: 6 feet 9 inches, or 2.06 meters.

He was born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984. He went to high school in Akron. In 2003 he was the top-ranked high school basketball recruit in the country.

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked him first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He came straight out of high school. He first played in the NBA on October 29, 2003. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award for 2003-04. It was his first year with the Cavaliers.

He won his first NBA title in 2012. The Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. He won two NBA titles with the Heat.

In 2016 the Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors. It was the first NBA title in the team's history. They were the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.

The Cavaliers won Game 7 by a score of 93-89. LeBron James was the Finals MVP. The title ended a 52-year wait for a major sports title in Cleveland.

In 2018 he left Cleveland to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020 the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the Finals. The title was his fourth.

On February 7, 2023, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He became the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

He and his foundation opened a public school in Akron. It is called the I Promise School. It began with 240 students in grades three and four.

He has won three Olympic gold medals. He won them with the United States men's basketball team. The latest was at the 2024 Paris Games.

Words to know

• recruit: a wanted player
• deficit: games behind
• Finals: the title series

The short version

LeBron James is a professional basketball player from Akron, Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers picked him first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. On February 7, 2023, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. As of November 2026, he has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player four times.

Quick facts

• LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers picked LeBron James first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft.
• In 2016 LeBron James and the Cavaliers won the first NBA championship in the team's history.
• On February 7, 2023, LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
• LeBron James has won three Olympic gold medals with the United States men's basketball team.