Personal Life of LeBron James

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LeBron Raymone James (born December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. A three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, "King James" was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while still a sophomore at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. At just 18, he was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers and signed a US$90 million shoe contract with Nike before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward but often classified as a point forward due to his ability to run the offense like a point guard, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008–09, and has been both All-NBA and an All-Star every season since 2005.

The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James has led the team to consecutive playoff appearances in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009; in 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. Runner-up in the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award balloting, James is also a member of the United States men's national basketball team, winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and a gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Personal life

James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004, and the second, Bryce Maximus James, on June 14, 2007.

During his sophomore year at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, he was named first-team all-state as a wide receiver in football, and in his junior year, he led his team to the state semifinals.

In basketball, James respected how Penny Hardaway played the game. In 2003 James said, "Penny sees the whole floor and can score" and that, "He's still one of my favorite players of all-time."

James has endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, and Upper Deck. With Nike, James has released six signature shoe styles, and four additional shoes (20-5-5, Soldier, Soldier 2, Ambassador). He has acted in a series of commercials called "The LeBrons".

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James drew criticism when he declined to sign a petition started by his teammate, Ira Newble, regarding the Chinese government's alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue. A year later, however, James did talk publicly about the issue, saying, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights. And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."

James, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, co-hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. James himself was nominated for three ESPYs: Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player (winner), and Best Record Breaking Performance. The performance for which he was nominated was when he scored 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, including 29 of the last 30 points and all of the team's 25 points in overtime. In other comedic pursuits, James hosted the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live. The show's creator Lorne Michaels praised him for his versatility.

In December 2007, James was ranked at #1 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25 with annual earnings of $27 million.

James has received criticism from Cleveland fans and critics for attending Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat. James said, "As individuals I want every Indian to succeed. I love all these fans for coming out and supporting us. But team-wise I want the Yankees to win." Despite residing in Ohio for all of his childhood, James added that he grew up as a Yankees fan, a Dallas Cowboys fan for the NFL and a Chicago Bulls fan for the NBA. In January 2008, Nike released of the Air Zoom V LeBron shoe, which featured a Yankees-type motif and was made available only in New York City.

In March 2008, James became the first black man to appear on the cover of Vogue, posing with Gisele Bündchen. He also was just the third man to appear on the cover of Vogue, after Richard Gere and George Clooney.

Some considered the cover offensive, describing the positioning of James and Bündchen as a reference to classic imagery of the movie monster King Kong.

In June 2008, James donated $20,000 to a committee to elect Barack Obama.

In August 2008, a source close to James said he would strongly consider playing in Europe for Olympiacos if given a $50-million annual salary. However, James later said he may sign a contract extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers at the conclusion of the 2008-2009 NBA season.

On October 29, 2008, James gathered almost 20,000 people at the Quicken Loans Arena for a viewing of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 30-minute American Stories, American Solutions television advertisement. It was shown on a large screen above the stage, where Jay-Z later held a free concert.

James and Ice Cube have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. James will also act as executive producer if the show is greenlighted.

Avant-garde guitarist Buckethead honored James's twenty-fourth birthday with two new songs on his website called "LeBron" and "LeBron's Hammer" both later released on the 2009 album Slaughterhouse on the Prairie. One of his earlier songs, "King James" from Crime Slunk Scene (2006), is also dedicated to James.

James appeared on the cover of the February 2009 edition of GQ magazine.

James stars in the Lions Gate film, More Than a Game (2009).

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