James, LeBron Raymone (1984– )

US basketball player. A strong, fast forward with exceptional dribbling skills and shooting ability, he is also a solid rebounder and has quickly established himself as one of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) top players. Born in Akron, Ohio, he was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the number one NBA draft pick in 2003 straight from high school at the age of 18. He was voted the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2004, and voted to the All-Star game for the following four years, winning the game's Most Valuable Player Award in 2006 and 2008. In 2007, he led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for the first time in their history, though they lost there to the San Antonio Spurs. Already in his career he has set numerous youngest player records, including new benchmarks to score triple-doubles, score 40 and 50 points in a game, win Rookie of the Year, make the All-NBA team, and average more than 30 points in a season. In 2008 he was the league's scoring champion, averaging 30.0 points per game.

Career highlights

regular season scoring: 10,689 points (average 27.3); play-off scoring: 1,267 points (average 27.5)

Awards

Rookie of the Year 2004

He won bronze medals with the US team at the 2004 Olympic Games and the 2006 World Championships. Before playing his first NBA game, he signed an unprecedented US$90 million shoe contract with Nike. In Game 5 of the 2007 Conference Finals, James set a franchise record by scoring 48 points, while adding nine rebounds and seven assists, in Cleveland's double-overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons. James scored his team's last 25 points, including 29 of the last 30 points.