LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and has won four NBA championships from 10 NBA Finals appearances, including eight consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2018. He has also won three Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. James is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
In addition to ranking fourth in NBA career assists and sixth in NBA career steals, James holds several individual honors, including four NBA MVP awards, four Finals MVP awards, the Rookie of the Year award, three All-Star Game MVP awards, the inaugural NBA Cup MVP, and the Olympics MVP in the 2024 Summer Olympics. A record 22-time All-Star and 21-time All-NBA selection (including a record 13 First Team selections), he has also made six All-Defensive Teams. The oldest active player in the NBA, he holds records for the most NBA seasons played with 23, the most minutes played in league history and the most field goals made in league history.
Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, James gained national attention at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School and was heavily touted as a future NBA superstar for his all-around scoring, passing, athleticism and playmaking abilities. A prep-to-pro, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year and quickly established himself as one of the league's premier players, leading Cleveland to its first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and winning the scoring title in 2008. After winning back-to-back MVPs in 2009 and 2010, he joined the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2010, a controversial move announced in the television special The Decision. With the Heat, James won his first two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, earning MVP and Finals MVP honors both years. After four seasons in Miami, he returned to Cleveland in 2014, leading the Cavaliers to their first-ever championship in 2016, ending the Cleveland sports curse. He signed with the Lakers in 2018, winning another title in 2020 and becoming the first player to win Finals MVP with three different teams. In 2023, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, and in 2024, he and his son Bronny became the first father-son teammates in league history. In 2025, James was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team (also known as the "Redeem Team").
in January of the 2014–15 season, James missed two weeks due to knee and back strains, which was the longest stretch of missed games in his career at the time. The Cavaliers advanced to the Finals against the Golden State Warriors, making James the first player since the 1960s to play in five consecutive Finals. Cleveland took a 2–1 series lead, but lost in six games. During the 2015 offseason, James declined his $21.5 million player option and re-signed with Cleveland on a two-year, $47 million contract that carried a second year player option. During the 2015–16 season, there was speculation that James played a role in the firing of Cavaliers coach David Blatt. Despite this distraction, Cleveland finished with 57 wins and the best record in the East. The Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals, losing only two games en route to a rematch with the Warriors, who were coming off a record-setting 73-win season. To begin the series, Cleveland fell behind 3–1. James responded by registering 41-point games in Games 5 and 6, leading the Cavaliers to consecutive wins. In Game 7, he posted a triple-double and made a clutch block on the Warriors' Andre Iguodala as Cleveland claimed victory, becoming the first NBA team to come back from a 3–1 deficit in the Finals. The win also marked the city of Cleveland's first professional sports title in 52 years. James became the third player to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7, and averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 2.6 steals during the series. He was unanimously selected as the Finals MVP. During a White House ceremony honoring the Cavaliers for their victory, President Obama praised James' work ethic, determination, selflessness and his "insistence on always making the right play."