LeBron Raymone James (born December 30, 1984(1984-12-30)) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Commonly nicknamed "King James" and "The Chosen One", the Akron, Ohio-born James was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA star while still in high school, and was named Ohio's "Mr. Basketball" three times. At the age of 18, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers.Before his NBA debut, James signed an unprecedented US$90 million shoe contract with Nike. He has since set numerous youngest player records. In his first season, he received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and in the following three seasons received All-NBA and All-Star honors. He led the Cavaliers to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2006 and 2007; the latter year the team advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and the NBA Finals for the first time in Cleveland's history.
James is listed as a small forward, but can also play point guard and shooting guard. This versatility has led to his unofficial classification as a "point forward". James was a member of the United States men's national basketball team that won the bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and he finished second in the league Most Valuable Player balloting in 2006.
Player profile
James has established himself as a legitimate triple-double threat and has averaged 26.7 points, 6.4 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game for his career. As of the 2006-07 season, he has recorded twelve triple-doubles in his career, with ten in the regular season and two in the postseason. On offense, James utilizes his quickness, size, and strength to get past defenders. When penetrating to the basket James exhibits exceptional body control, adjusting his shot in mid-air according to the defense, allowing him to absorb contact and finish at the basket.In the 2005-06 season, he led the league in completed traditional three point plays. He is a solid rebounder who regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for the small forward position. His overall skill sets and on-court play has led to many comparisons to NBA legends Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan.
Although James exhibits exceptional offensive ability, he has yet to be featured on the NBA All-Defensive Team and has struggled with his free throw shooting — he averaged a subpar .698 free throw accuracy in the 2006-07 season.
Personal life
James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, named LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004. The second, Bryce Maximus James, was born on Thursday, June 14, 2007.During his sophomore year, he was named First Team-All State as a wide receiver, and in his junior year he helped lead St. Vincent - St. Mary High School to the state semifinals in football. As a freshman playing basketball, James wore jersey number 32 before adopting his current number 23 as a tribute to his role model, Michael Jordan.
Despite being compared to players such as Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, and Magic Johnson, James considers Penny Hardaway as the player whose talents are most similar to his. "Penny sees the whole floor and can score," James said. "He's still one of my favorite players of all-time."
James has stated he wants to be the first billionaire athlete and a global icon. He has a number of endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Powerade, bubblicious, and Upper Deck. With Nike LeBron has released six signature shoe styles. He has acted in a series of commercials called "The LeBrons" also produced by Nike.
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 involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan.
On July 11, 2007, James along with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. The show aired on July 15, 2007. LeBron was nominated for three ESPYs. His nominations were for Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player (winner), and for Best Record Breaking Performance. The Record Breaking performance was when he scored 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
