LeBronJames
From the slums to the top of the NBA
LeBron James with his children, his wife and his mother Gloria (right).
© Imago Images/USA TODAY Network
LeBron James has set a new NBA points record. The Lakers player’s journey from a slum to the top of basketball.
LeBron James (38) of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 38 points in the game against Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday (local time) and has 38,390 points in the NBA. The 2.06 meter tall player broke the record set in 1984 by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (75), who ended his career in 1989 with 38,387 points. After the decisive throw, James made it clear how important family and friends were on his way to the top of the NBA: “I wouldn’t be without your help, your passion and the sacrifices you made to get me to this point I myself.”
“She’s a champion”
LeBron Raymone James Sr. was born on December 30, 1984 in the industrial city of Akron, Ohio, as an only child. His mother, Gloria, was only 16 at the time and had not yet graduated from high school. LeBron’s biological father abandoned her before he was born, so she raised her son alone in a poor neighborhood and lived with her own mother. “From day one, I’ve always had a mother and a father in my mother,” LeBron told James in 2014 in an interview with journalist Maria Shriver (67). “I was never a kid who asked, ‘Where is my father?’ She gave me so much strength I didn’t even have to think about it. She’s definitely a champion.”
When LeBron James was three years old, his grandmother died and he moved with his mother 12 times over the next three years. “There were definitely times when we didn’t think we’d make it to the next day, but we believed that man up there had a calling for us as a family,” the basketball star said. “And my mother just never accepted a ‘No, it can’t be done’.” At the age of nine, Gloria placed him in the care of his football coach, Frank Walker, to provide him with a more stable environment. It was in the family that James first came into contact with basketball.
He later received a scholarship to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and was hailed as a great, if not greatest, basketball talent. Today’s forward was first on the court as a point guard for the Fighting Irish and later led the team. He was named Ohio’s “Mr. Basketball” several times and was dubbed “The Chosen One” by Sports Illustrated in 2002. In 2003, James announced that he would skip college and enter directly for the NBA draft. As a player for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he broke record after record. For example, in 2008, at the age of 23 years and 59 days, he became the youngest player ever to score more than 10,000 points in the NBA. In 2010 he moved to the Miami Heat, in 2014 he returned to the Cavaliers. In 2018 he announced his move to the Los Angeles Lakers. James is currently in his 20th NBA season. He has won four NBA titles to date, has been named MVP (Most Valuable Player) four times and celebrated Olympic gold medals with Team USA in 2008 and 2012.
With the son in the NBA?
Today, LeBron James is not only a successful basketball star, but also the father of two sons and a daughter. LeBron “Bronny” Jr. is 18 years old, Bryce Maximus is 15 and Zhuri Nova is eight. His sons are standing also regularly on the court. James, who has been married to his wife and high school sweetheart Savannah since 2013, has publicly expressed his desire to one day play in the NBA with Bronny. As a father, he tries to follow his mother’s example, he explained in an interview with Shriver. “The most important thing you can give a child is love and attention, and that’s what my mother gave me. I’ve never had to worry about anything.”