Written by Sedat Ş. Pektaş• October 7, 2024• 8:09 am• Lifestyle

NBA’s G.O.A.T. Lebron James

HomeLifestyleNBA’s G.O.A.T. Lebron James

LeBron Raymone James is a professional basketball player born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio, United States. He is considered one of the most successful and influential players in the history of the NBA (National Basketball Association). Also known as “King James”, LeBron James is a figure who has made a name for himself with his basketball skills, on-court intelligence and leadership. His basketball career is full of many achievements that have gone down in history in the world of sports. American professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA team. He is considered one of the most important basketball players in NBA history. In 2023, he broke Karim Abdul-Jabbar’s record and became the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. He is often compared to Michael Jordan in discussions about the best basketball player of all time.

The Beginning of Lebron James’ Life

James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio. His mother, Gloria Marie James, was 16 when he was born. He was raised by his mother Gloria James. His father, Anthony McClelland, had an extensive criminal record and was not involved in his life. She left the family before LeBron was born, so Gloria raised LeBron alone. His childhood was difficult, with financial difficulties and displacement. However, LeBron overcame these difficulties by playing sports. The two were constantly moving from one neighborhood to another in the city of Akron due to his mother’s job search. Life was often a struggle for the family as James grew up, moving from apartment to apartment in the darker neighborhoods of Akron while Gloria struggled to find a stable job. Her mother, Gloria, wanted LeBron to play soccer to occupy her free time, but she later enrolled him on the team of local youth soccer coach Frank Walker. Realizing that her son would be better off in a more stable family environment, Gloria allowed James to move in with the family of local youth soccer coach Frank Walker, who introduced him to basketball when he was nine.

LeBron James and his Summit Lake Hornets Basketball Team

Meeting with Basketball

James began playing organized basketball in the fifth grade. As a child, he began playing basketball as a team on the first Amateur Athletic Union (AAU)-affiliated Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. He and his friends on the team, led by LeBron, Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III and Willie McGee, achieved success locally and nationally. The group nicknamed themselves the “Fab Four” and promised each other that they would go to high school together. After school ended, James and his three friends, who called themselves the “Fab Four,” vowed that they would never be separated for the rest of their lives. In a move that sparked local controversy, they chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, a private Catholic school with a predominantly white student body. Although they received offers from a number of schools for their high school careers, they accepted St. Vincent–St. Mary High School.

Lebron James’ High School Period and Rising in Basketball

1st Season:

As a freshman at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, LeBron James immediately excelled on the varsity basketball team. Standing 1.88m tall, he averaged 18 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. The Fighting Irish finished the season undefeated (27-0), winning the Division III state championship. His early dominance garnered significant attention in the basketball world.

Season 2:
During his sophomore season, LeBron’s stats rose to an impressive 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 steals per game. His performance attracted NBA fans and scouts to his games at the University of Akron’s Rhodes Arena. The team ended with a 26-1 record and won another state title. LeBron became the first sophomore to win Ohio Mr. Basketball and be named to the USA Today All-USA First Team.

Season 3:
LeBron was recognized as the top high school player in the country before his junior year, even appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He averaged 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 3.3 steals per game, winning the Gatorade National Player of the Year award and being named to the All-USA First Team again. Despite his stellar play, his team finished second in their division. LeBron’s frustrations were also highlighted by media attention surrounding personal incidents.

Season 4:
In his senior year, LeBron’s games were televised nationally, making him the first high school player to achieve such fame. He averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game. For the third straight year, he earned Ohio Mr. Basketball and Gatorade National Player of the Year honors. He capped off his high school career by participating in prestigious all-star games, further solidifying his reputation as one of the most promising young players in basketball.

His Football Adventure

LeBron played American football, which is quite popular in America, during his childhood and youth. He was successful in both basketball and American football at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, especially during his high school years. James also played for the school’s football team for a while in high school and played as a winger during his time there. He was selected to the All-Five in his sophomore season and played a role in his team’s semi-final appearance in the Irish League. His football career ended when he sprained his ankle in a match played in his fourth year at school. Before his injury, many sports analysts, football critics, high school coaches, former and current players thought he was talented in football, but the injury ended his career. LeBron has expressed his love for American football on various platforms. He also has close relationships with some NFL (National Football League) teams and players. During the NBA lockout in 2011, there were reports that NFL teams Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks had offered LeBron a place to play football, but LeBron described it as a joke and did not accept the offer.

Focusing on his basketball career and becoming one of the greatest basketball players in history, LeBron has always stated that he enjoys playing football, but has not chosen to become a professional football player.

How did Lebron James’ professional career begin?

2003-2004 season: NBA debut

James was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft. He made his NBA debut against the Sacramento Kings and played the game with 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. He also became the NBA’s first-ever rookie to score the most points in a rookie game after being drafted out of high school. James also became the youngest player in history to reach the 1,000-point mark this season. He became the youngest player in history to score 40+ points in a game with 41 points in a game against the New Jersey Nets. James won the Rookie of the Year award at the end of the season, competing with Carmelo Anthony, becoming the first Cavaliers basketball player to do so. He also averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds in his rookie season, becoming the third player in history to record 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his rookie year after Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson. His team finished the season with a 35–47 record, winning eighteen games more than the previous year, but failing to make the playoffs.

2004-2008 season: Rise, awards and records in the NBA

• James made his first career triple-double in the 2004-05 season against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 19, becoming the youngest player in league history to make a triple-double.

• He was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career this season, finishing the game with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists as the Eastern Conference won the game.

• James broke his career record by scoring 56 points in the game against the Toronto Raptors on March 20, becoming the most points scored in a game in Cleveland Cavaliers history.

• James averaged 27.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game, and was named to the Second Team of the Year, becoming the youngest player in history to do so. Although his team started the season with a 30-22 record,[33] they finished the season with a 42-40 record, leaving them out of the playoffs.

• James won the All-Star Game MVP Award in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game with 29 points and 6 rebounds, becoming the youngest player in history to do so at 21 years and 51 days old.

• He averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, becoming the youngest player in league history to average at least 30 points per game in a season.

• The Cavaliers made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 under his leadership this season. James played his first playoff game of his career in the first game of the conference first round Washington Wizards series and had a triple-double in this game they won. He scored his first game-winning basket of his career in the third game of the series. Although the Cavaliers advanced by beating the Wizards 4-2 in the first round, they were eliminated by the last conference champion Detroit Pistons 4-3 in the conference semifinals.

• James was criticized by the media in the early 2006-07 season because his shooting percentage dropped significantly compared to the previous season due to lack of focus and concentration.

• His team, the Cavaliers, entered the playoffs with a 50-win record in the season and ranked 2nd in their conference, thus achieving the success of passing the 50-win mark in the regular season for the second time in a row with his team.

• His 48 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in Game 5 of the conference finals, 29 of his team’s 30 points in the last quarter and the game-winning basket with 2 seconds left contributed to his team’s victory.

• In the post-game commentary, announcer Marv Albert James said about his performance in Game 5 that it was one of the greatest performances in playoff history, and Steve Kerr said it was like watching Jordan on the court, not LeBron.

• His Game 5 performance was named the 4th best individual playoff game performance in modern NBA history by ESPN in 2012.

• He was named All-Star MVP for the second time in his career after playing in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in the 2007-08 season with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists.

• James became the Cleveland Cavaliers’ all-time scoring leader in a game against the Toronto Raptors on March 21, passing Brad Daugherty, and he did so in 100 fewer games than Daughtery.

• By the end of the season, he had a total of 7 triple-doubles, which was both his personal and team record.

• He became the scoring leader for the first time in his career with an average of 30 points per game, and became the first Cavaliers player to average 30 points.

• James and his team entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, but they eliminated the Washington Wizards in the first round, but were eliminated by the Boston Celtics, who would become champions that year, 4–3 in the conference semifinals.

2010 Free Agency Period James officially announced that he was a free agent and leaving the Cavaliers at 00:01 on July 1, 2010.[79] Among the teams interested in him during his free agency period were the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and his former team the Cavaliers. On July 8, he announced his decision in favor of the Miami Heat during a live program on ESPN. Heat president Pat Riley played a major role in James joining the team. After James left the Cavaliers, he received a huge backlash from sports analysts, media, executives and fans. His decision was seen by everyone as unnecessary and cowardly. Angry Cavaliers fans burned his jerseys and he was declared a traitor by the team. He received a bigger backlash from everyone with his statements to CNN in September. With this transfer story he experienced in 2010, he quickly became one of the most disliked athletes in the USA. Especially his statement that he was taking his talents to the south coast this summer received a huge backlash from critics.

Miami Heat (2010-2014)

He was generally portrayed as a bad person by the media in the 2010-11 season and had a year below his own standards due to the effect of these criticisms. On December 2, James returned to Cleveland for the game against the Cavaliers and was booed by the fans every time he picked up the ball in the game where he scored 38 points. In his first year with the Heat, he played with 51% shooting percentage and averaged 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. His team, which entered the play-offs as the 2nd seed, managed to advance to the 2011 NBA Finals, but although they took a 2-1 lead in the series against the Dallas Mavericks, they lost 4-2 after 6 games and could not become champions. His 17.8 point average in the final series was 8.9 points less than his regular season average and this was one of the biggest declines in NBA history. After losing the finals with the Heat to the Mavericks, James, who was ambitious, did frequent development workouts before the season started. He worked out with former NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon to improve his post-up and get help on other issues. After the workouts, Grantland writer Kirk Goldsberry stated in an article he wrote before the season started that James’ comeback would be the greatest comeback in NBA history. Led by James, who improved his post-up, Miami entered this season with the best start to a season in its history. He finished the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season with 53% shooting, 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game, and was selected as the MVP for the third time in his career. His team finished the season with a 46-20 record, finishing in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference behind the Chicago Bulls.

James broke many records with the form he achieved in February of the 2012-13 season. He became the first player in history to achieve this by scoring 30 points with a 60% shooting percentage in 6 consecutive games, including the Portland Trail Blazers game. He became the first player in history to score 200 shots in a month with a shooting percentage of more than 60%. James also became the second player to break more than one shooting percentage record in a month after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did it in March 1983. During this period, his team achieved the second longest streak in NBA history by winning 27 consecutive games. The Heat entered the play-offs by finishing the regular season as the league champion with a score of 6616. James was also selected as the MVP once again this season, winning this award for the 4th time in his career, all in the last 5 seasons.

James broke his career record by scoring 62 points in the 2013-14 season against the Charlotte Bobcats on March 3. He also broke Glen Rice’s record of 56 points in club history and made Heat history as the team’s highest scorer in a single game. He finished the season with an average of 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists on 56.7% shooting. In June, he terminated his remaining 1-year contract with the team and became a “free agent”.

Return to the Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-2018)

LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, and this return went down in history as a very important moment for the team and the city. He led the Cavaliers to a historic success in 2016. He made a magnificent comeback in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, where they were trailing 3-1, and won Cleveland their first NBA Championship in history. This victory is considered one of the most iconic moments of LeBron’s career. Los Angeles Lakers (2018-Present) LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, where he has continued to have a successful career. In 2020, he won the NBA Championship with the Lakers, earning his fourth career ring. This victory also made LeBron one of the first players to win a championship with three different teams. While his Lakers career continues, LeBron continues to perform at a high level and continues his career as one of the greatest players in NBA history.

James’ Private Life

LeBron James married his high school sweetheart Savannah Brinson in 2013. The couple has three children: LeBron Jr. (Bronny), Bryce Maximus, and Zhuri. LeBron is very devoted to his family and frequently posts about his children on social media. His son Bronny has followed in his father’s footsteps and has attracted attention by starting his basketball career. In addition to his love for his family, LeBron is also known for his philanthropic work. He founded the I PROMISE School in Akron, Ohio in 2018, a school that opened to provide educational opportunities to low-income students. The school is part of LeBron’s efforts to give back to the community and provides significant opportunities to many students.