LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. He is a professional basketball player in the NBA and has the nickname King James. As of November 2026, he is very tall: 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters). As of November 2026, LeBron James plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

LeBron James went to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. 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, for the Cavaliers. As a rookie in 2003-04, he averaged 20.9 points per game for the Cavaliers. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award for that season.

In 2010 LeBron James became a free agent and left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat. This began with the 2010-11 season. He won his first NBA championship in 2012, when the Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. In the clinching Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals, he had a triple-double: 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. He won two NBA championships with the Miami Heat.

In July 2014 LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, promising to bring a championship to his home area of northeast Ohio. The 2016 Finals were his sixth straight appearance in the NBA Finals. In 2016 the Cavaliers became the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, beating the Golden State Warriors. They won Game 7 by a score of 93-89. LeBron James finished that game with 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. He was named the Finals MVP of the 2016 NBA Finals.

In 2016 LeBron James and the Cavaliers won the first NBA championship in the team's history. The title ended a 52-year wait for a major sports championship in Cleveland. It was the city's first major sports title since the Cleveland Browns won the NFL title in 1964.

In 2018 LeBron James left Cleveland to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2020 the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, and the title was his fourth championship.

In 2007-08 LeBron James led the NBA in scoring, averaging 30 points per game. As of November 2026, he has been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player four times. He was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game three times. As of November 2026, he has been picked for the NBA All-Star Game 22 times.

On February 7, 2023, LeBron James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. As of November 2026, he has scored more points in NBA games than any other player in history. He has scored more than 43,000 in the regular season. As of November 2026, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 38,387 points, is second on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and Karl Malone is third.

LeBron James first played in the Olympics in 2004, when Team USA won the bronze medal in Athens. Four years later, in 2008, he won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Beijing. He has won three Olympic gold medals with the United States men's basketball team, the latest at the 2024 Paris Games. At the 2024 Paris Olympics the U.S. men's team beat France in the gold medal game. It was its fifth straight Olympic gold. LeBron James was the male flag bearer for the United States at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

LeBron James and his foundation opened a public school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. It is called the I Promise School. It began with 240 students in grades three and four. It was set to grow to include grades one through eight by 2022.

Words to know

• rookie: first-year player
• bronze: third-place medal
• clinching: settling a series