LeBron James is a professional 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 St. Vincent-St. Mary 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 July 2014 he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He promised to bring a championship to his home area of northeast Ohio.
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 had 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. He 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.
In 2007-08 he led the NBA in scoring. He averaged 30 points per game. As of November 2026, he has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player four times.
On February 7, 2023, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He became the NBA's all-time leading scorer. As of November 2026, he has scored more than 43,000 points in the NBA regular season.
He and Team USA won the Olympic gold medal in men's basketball at the 2008 Beijing Games. He has won three Olympic gold medals with the United States men's basketball team. The latest was at the 2024 Paris Games.
He and his foundation opened a public school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. It is called the I Promise School.
As of November 2026, LeBron James plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Words to know
- recruit: a wanted player
- deficit: games behind
- rebounds: missed shots caught
