LeBron James has been playing for the Lakers for several years.Image: imago images / upi photo
Star portrait
LeBron James is considered one of the best basketball players in history. “King James” has been playing in the NBA since 2003 and is currently under contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. In February 2023, the basketball superstar broke the NBA record for most total points scored in the regular season. James carried the flag for the US Olympic team along with tennis player Cori “Coco” Gauff at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.
We take a look at LeBron James’ career, his fortune, his family – and explore the question of who is the best basketball player of all time.
Here you can find all the information about LeBron James.
- Name: LeBron Raymone James Sr.
- Birthday: December 30, 1984
- Zodiac sign: Capricorn
- Place of birth: Akron, Ohio (USA)
LeBron James for the Cavaliers in 2014.Image: imago images / Fotoarena
LeBron James: Height and weight of the superstar
Die Website der NBA lists LeBron James as being 2.06 meters tall. According to the online portal, his body weight is 113 kilograms.
LeBron James: This is his wife Savannah
LeBron James has been married to Savannah James, née Brinson, since September 14, 2013. The couple, who have been together since high school, have three children: LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., Bryce Maximus James and Zhuri Nova James.
Savannah and LeBron have been married for more than ten years.Image: imago images / nurphoto
LeBron and Bronny together for the Lakers
Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball practice in July 2023, from which he has fully recovered. In April 2024, the talent registered for the NBA Draft and was selected by the LA Lakers two months later. This fulfills a dream that LeBron, among others, told “The Athletic” said: to play on an NBA team with his son.
LeBron James and Nike: Lifelong partnership
In 2003, LeBron James was selected as the first pick in the draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The day before, the then 18-year-old had signed a sponsorship deal with Nike that guaranteed the talented rookie $87 million over the next seven years. In December 2015, Nike negotiated a lifetime contract with James, which is expected to earn the NBA professional $32 million per year.
Since 2003, Nike has launched 20 main models of the “LeBron shoes”, starting with the “LeBron 1”. In addition, there are numerous special editions and variants of the individual models.
Watson is now on Whatsapp
Now on Whatsapp and Instagram: your watson update! We provide you here on Whatsapp with the watson highlights of the day. Only once a day – no spam, no blabla, just seven links. Promised! Would you rather be informed on Instagram? Here you can find our broadcast channel.
LeBron James’ Net Worth and Salary
“Forbes” estimated LeBron James’ net worth at $1 billion in June 2022. James is therefore the first active NBA professional to break this sound barrier.
According to a Forbes list from May 2024, James was the athlete who generated the fourth highest earnings over the past twelve months, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish golfer Jon Rahm and Lionel Messi, with earnings of $128.2 million. James reportedly earned $80 million off the basketball court, including through sponsorship contracts such as his lifetime deal with Nike.
LeBron auf Social Media: “You are my Sunshine”
LeBron James is active on several social media platforms: 159 million people follow him on Instagram. The NBA icon has over 52 million followers on X and over 27 million on Facebook (as of June 2024).
James does not currently have an account on TikTok, but is the protagonist of a viral trend on the platform. The “You Are My Sunshine” meme combines the lyrics of the nursery rhyme in different versions with recordings of James.
The song is a fan song in the halls. The meme also pokes fun at the excessive adoration of the basketball player by his fans.
LeBron’s career: points, titles, awards and statistics
LeBron James went straight from high school to the NBA in 2003 and was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. After seven seasons with the Cavs, James joined the Miami Heat. He won the championship with the Florida team in 2012 and 2013.
A year later, James returned to the Cavs, whom he led to the championship in 2016 despite a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors. No team had ever managed such a comeback before. James won another championship title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, for whom he has played since the 2018/2019 season.
James scored his 38,388th career point in the regular season in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in February 2023. He overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that day and has since become the most successful basket scorer in NBA history.
In March 2024, James became the first professional basketball player to surpass the 40,000-point mark in the Lakers’ game against the Denver Nuggets.
The NBA star won the MVP award for the most valuable player of the regular season four times, was named Finals MVP four times and was named to the All-Star team 20 times.
LeBron at the Olympics and World Championships
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and 2012 in London, LeBron James won the gold medal with the US team. In 2004 in Athens, James and Team USA had to settle for the bronze medal – just as they did at the 2006 World Championships in Japan, James’ only participation in a World Cup.
At the 2023 World Cup, the Americans, without James in the squad, lost to eventual world champions Germany. One day after the DBB’s World Cup victory, the NBA professional announced that he would participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
This quickly led to other stars such as Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry declaring their willingness to take on the Olympic gold mission.
Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Or maybe not.Image: imago images / icon sportswire
LeBron James or Michael Jordan: Who is the GOAT?
When asked who the best basketball player of all time is, basketball fans in the USA usually mention the names LeBron James and Michael Jordan. James himself said in the 2018 ESPN+ series “More Than An Athlete“that winning the 2016 NBA Finals made him “the greatest player of all time.”
Active NBA players see Michael Jordan ahead of LeBron James in the debate about the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), as a survey by “The Athletic” showed in April 2024. However, the gap between Jordan and James is smaller than in previous years.
In addition to their exceptional athletic talent, they both have something else in common: Jordan appeared in the 1996 animated film “Space Jam,” and James in the sequel “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” which was released in 2021.
The 2024 Olympics continue to deliver the best entertainment. Fans can watch athletes competing in archery, athletics, or handball practically all day long. Whatever is happening.
