Lebron James – The King of the Court

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Lebron James or commonly known as “King James” is an American professional Basketball player and is probably one of the greatest in the history of the game and at the National Basketball Association (NBA). Often in terms of debate about who is the greatest basketball player, people tend to bring up only two names, Lebron James and Michael Jordan. Lebron James at present plays for the NBA team Los Angeles Lakers but everyone is shocked to know that he is the only player in the NBA history to have won the NBA Championships with three different teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lebron James has competed in total of 10 NBA finals and has won the title 8 consecutive times between 2011 and 2018 with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The accomplishments of Lebron James include four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals.

During the long 18 year old career of Lebron James, he holds the record for all- time playoffs points, is third in all- time points, and eighth in career assists. James has been selected to the All-NBA Team a record 17 times (with a record of 13 First Team selections and 11 consecutive First Team selections, the latter of which is shared with Michael Jordan and Karl Malone), made the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times, and has been named an All-Star 17 times, including three All-Star MVP selections.

 Early life and High School Career

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Lebron James was born on 30th December 1984 in Akron Ohio. His mother Gloria Marie James was only 16 years old when she conceived Lebron James and his father Anthony McClelland had a very bad criminal record and was never involved in the life of Lebron James. His mother was his only parent who stayed with him throughout his life.

Lebron James and his mother had to change their apartments frequently in the seedier neighborhoods due to financial issues. Lebron James mother never had a stable job and she soon realized that this would ruin the life of Lebron as well. So, she decided that Lebron James should move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach who introduced James to basketball when he was nine years old.

St Vincent -St Mary High School

Lebron James decided to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School with his scholarship money. During his high school days, he was considered as the hometown hero who led his team to the national tournament. Before the start of his junior year at the high school James was featured in Slam, an American basketball magazine, and writer Ryan Jones lauded him as possibly “the best high school basketball player in America right now”. He was started to be known as ” King James “ 

Professional Career

Finally in the 2003 NBA draft, James was selected for his hometown team Cleveland Cavaliers. In the first game of the season, he scored 25 points against the Sacramento Kings, setting an NBA record for most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut performance. At the end of the season he went on to receive the NBA rookie of the year award.

He ended his debut season with final averages of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game, he also became just the third player in league history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game as a rookie.

Cleveland Cavaliers

2004 to 2008 – The rise of Lebron James

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Lebron James went on to earn his first NBA All-Star Game selection in 2004–05 and contributed 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists in a winning effort for the Eastern Conference. On the other hand in the league, teams took note of his rapid development, where Denver Nuggets coach George Karl told Sports Illustrated, “It’s weird talking about a 20-year-old kid being a great player, but he is a great player … He’s the exception to almost every rule.”

By the end of 2007-2008 season in February, people though that James had reached the peak of his form. Lebron James by that time had started to defy records and had started achieving personal records.

2008 – 2010

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Lebron James finished second for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award voting and made his first NBA All-Defensive Team. He ended the season with posting 23 chase-down blocks and a career-high 93 total blocks. He also became only the fourth postmerger player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in a single season.

By the end of the 2009-2010 season, Lebron James received a lot of criticism due to his incosistent form and finally decided to make a move from the club.

Return to Cleveland Cavaliers

On 1st July 2014, Lebron James decided to make a move back to Cleveland Cavaliers from the Miami heat. On July 12, he officially signed with the team, who had compiled a league-worst 97–215 record in the four seasons following his departure. The first year after the return to his home club, he had switched on his beast mode and was in serious consideration for the Finals mvp selection.

The next year in the 2015-2016 season, he ended the 52 year long championship drought for the Cleveland Cavaliers with his overpowered performance throughout the season. After winning the championship, for the next two seasons, he suffered a streak of injuires and a series of bad form which forced him to bid a final farewell to his home club. 

Miami Heat:

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By 1st July 2010, Lebron James had turned into a free agent and was contacted by several teams. Finally on 8th July he announced that he was joining the Heats. Upon leaving the Cavaliers, James drew intense criticism from sports analysts, executives, fans, and current and former players. The Decision itself was also scrutinized and viewed as unnecessary. Many thought that the prolonged wait for James’s choice was unprofessional as not even the teams courting him were aware of his decision until moments before the show.

First season

The first season of Lebron James at the club was filled with intense media pressure and the scutiny by the fans. Not only James, but also the heats were treated as villains by both the media and the fans.

To begin the year, they struggled to adjust to these new circumstances, going only 9–8 after 17 games. James later admitted that the constant negativity surrounding the team made him play with an angrier demeanor than in years past. On December 2, James faced the Cavaliers in Cleveland for the first time since departing as a free agent. He scored 38 points and led Miami to a win while being booed every time he touched the ball.

2011 to 2014

After the first season, Lebron James had caught the heat with the game. Lebron James led the team from the back and eventually led them to win the championship during the 2010 to 2011 season. The performance of James was something out of this world throughout the season where he played the final game with cramps on his leg.

In February of the 2012–13 season, James averaged 29.7 points and 7.8 assists per game while setting multiple shooting efficiency records. That same month, the Heat also began a 27-game winning streak, which is the third longest in NBA history.

On 3rd March 2014, James went on to score a career high 61 points in a game against Charollete Bobcats. The season ended with Lebron James and Miami being the runners up and after the end of the season, Lebron James decided to move back to his home club. 

Los Angeles Lakers:

Marca

Finally in 2018, Lebron James decided to move to the Los Angeles Lakers. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, James’s agent, Rich Paul, explained: “In 2010, when he went to Miami, it was about championships. In 2014, when he went back to Cleveland, it was about delivering on a promise. In 2018, it was just about doing what he wants to do.” The Reaction to his move this time was more positive than his original departure from the Cavaliers, albeit still mixed, as some onlookers felt that Los Angeles was not his optimal destination.

His first season at the club was an unfortunate one as he went on to miss the majority of the season due to a series of injury. Before the start of the 2019- 2020 season, Lakers decided to change their head coach and appointed Frank Vogel as their new head coach. Frank imporved the playing style of the lakers with moving James to full-time point guard, and competing with a more consistent defensive effort. Behind James’s leadership, the Lakers opened the 2019–20 season with a 17–2 record, matching the best start in franchise history.

On January 25, 2020, James passed team legend Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time regular season scoring list, a day before the death of Kobe Bryant by a helicopter crash.

The 2020–21 season was reduced to 72 games for each team and starting on December 22, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, began after the shortest offseason in NBA history with a 116–109 loss to the Clippers. On February 13, 2021, James recorded 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in a 115–105 win, the Lakers’s seventh consecutive victory, over the Grizzlies. In a 109–98 loss to the Nets on February 18, James became the third player in NBA history with 35,000 career points, joining Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. James at 36 years and 50 days became the youngest player to reach the milestone.

National Team:

The Sports Rush

James made his international debut for the United States in the year 2004 where he was an important part of the olympic basketball team. USA finished the competition with a bronze medal, becoming the first U.S. basketball team to return home without a gold medal since adding active NBA players to their lineup.

At the 2006 FIBA world Championship, James played a much more important role in for the team being the co – captain and helped his country secure the bronze medal again.

There were several controversies involved before naming James for the 2008 Olympic team. At the FIBA Americas Championship 2007, he averaged 18.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 apg, including a 31-point performance against Argentina in the championship game, the most ever by an American in an Olympic qualifier. USA went on to win the gold and automatically qualified for the 2008 Olympics.

He pulled out from the 2010 FIBA World Championship but was available for the 2012 olympic games. He helped his team secure the straight second consecutive gold medal. 

Lebron James Family:

People

On 14th September 2013, James married his childhood love Savannah Brinson after dating her for a really long time. The couple had welcomed their first child Lebron Jr or Lebron Raymone James jr even before they were married. Soon after marriage, the couple welcomed their some Bryce Maximus James and later their daughter Zhuri.

The James family is one of the favourite families of NBA. The trio of Bryce Maximus James, James jr and Zhuri James is called the James gang, James’ mother Gloria Marie James as Mama James and his wife Savannah Brinson as Queen James. 

Lebron James family Foundation:

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Lebron James along with his family started the Lebron James family foundation which is an ngo and helps the poor and helpless kids from Akron to fulfill their dreams.

Recognizing the life-changing importance of education, The Lebron James Family Foundation invest its time, resources, and attention in the kids of Lebron’s hometown of Akron, Ohio. Through its I PROMISE program, the foundation serves more than 1,400 Akron-area students by providing them with the programs, support, and mentors they need to succeed in school and beyond. This was a noble step which was taken up by the James family.

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