LeBron James

Overview

Hailing from Akron, Ohio, LeBron James is one of the premier players of the NBA. He currently plays small forward for the Miami Heat.

High school

James was born on December 30, 1984 and attended St. Vincent-St. Mary’s high school in Akron. From an early age, Lebron displayed a high level of natural ability for the game, but it is in high school when he began to catch nationwide attention. His appearance in: SLAM Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN The Magazine, helped propel James into the limelight, as did his stellar career in high school. James was a starter since his freshman year for the Fighting Irish, and over four years of playing, James earned 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists. LeBron led the Fighting Irish to three state titles, and was named to the All-USA First Team three times, as well as Mr. Basketball of Ohio three straight times. He earned MVP honors at the McDonald’s All-American Game, the EA Sports Roundball Classic, and the Jordan Capital Classic.

NBA Career

2003-04 Season

LeBron entered the NBA during the 2003-2004 season at age 18. He was the Cleveland Cavaliers first overall pick for the 2003 draft.During his rookie year he earned the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, becoming the youngest player to ever win it. And joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season. While the Cavs record improved to 35-47 (up 18 wins from the previous season) they failed to make the playoffs as they began to rebuild their franchise around LeBron.

2004-2005 Season

James was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game, and became the youngest player in history to record a triple-double, and to make the All-NBA Team. But, yet again the Cavs failed to reach the playoffs with a 42-40 record.

2005-2006 Season

During his 2005-06 season, James was elected to yet another All-Star Game, and became the youngest All-Star MVP. LeBron was named NBA Player of the Week 5 times, and became the youngest player in the NBA to average 30 points a game. The Cleveland Cavaliers finally made the playoffs, and went as far as a full seven game series against the Detroit Pistons.

At the end of the 2005-06 season, James signed an extension of three years to his current contract with the Cavaliers, with a player option for a fourth year. The contract expires with James as an unrestricted free agent following the 2010 season.

2006-2007 Season

James was elected to his third consecutive All-Star game, and led the Cavaliers to the NBA championships. However, the Cavs fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the finals by a sweep of four straight loses.

2007-2008 Season

James continued his dominance in the NBA, earning his fourth straight All-Star Game appearance and second All-Star Game MVP. On February 27, 2008, James became the youngest player in the NBA to score 10,000 points, and became the all time high scorer of the Cleveland Cavalier Franchise as he passed Brad Daugherty’s record. The Cavs reached the second round of the playoffs, falling to the Celtics 4 games to 3.

2008-2009 Season

Setting all new career highs, LeBron continued his dominance of the game, being named NBA Player of the Month four times, becoming only the second player in NBA History to do so. Also, LeBron became the fourth player in NBA History to lead his team in all five major statistical categories of: total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks for the course of a season. The Cavs playoff run ended in a six game series against the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2009-2010 Season

In his last contractual season with the Cavaliers, LeBron led his team to a 61-21 record securing the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers defeated the Chicago Bulls in the first round 4 games to 1. In the Conference semi-finals, the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2, and LeBron was heavily criticized for his poor performances in games 5 and 6.

2010-2011 Season

In a highly publicized free agency period, LeBron chose to team up with fellow 2003 draft-mates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to play for the Miami Heat. LeBron announced his decision on a very controversial one hour television special "The Decision" and he was highly scrutinized for his decision and the way he made it. The Heat started the season with a disappointing record of 9-8 but began to jell as they finished with a 58-24 record, good for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Heat made it to the NBA Finals (LeBron's second appearance) but lost to Dallas Mavericks 4 games to 2. Once again, LeBron was criticized for his questionable performances in high pressure situations.

International Play

Following his rookie season in the NBA, LeBron played on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team, where the team earned a bronze medal, which was the first time a U.S. Olympic team with NBA players failed to bring home the gold medal. James also played in the 2006 FIBA World Championship, as well as the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers for the 2008 summer games. The U.S. went unbeaten in 2008, reclaiming the gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.

Endorsements

James currently has endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, Upper Deck, and State Farm. LeBron has nine signature shoe styles with Nike, and four other shoes. The documentary, More Than a Game, follows James and his teammates through their high school careers and James’s rise to fame.

Major career awards and milestones

• NBA Champion: 2012
• NBA Finals Most Valuable Player: 2012
• NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2010
• NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004
• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004
• NBA Scoring Champion: 2008
• 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008
• 8-time NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
• 5-time All-NBA:
  • First Team: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
  • Second Team: 2005, 2007
• 1-time NBA All-Defensive:
  • First Team: 2009, 2010, 2011
• Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Summer Olympic Games
• Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship
• Gold medal with Team USA, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship
• Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games

Career Statistics

Career Season Averages

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
03-04	CLE	79	79	39.5	.417	.290	.754	1.3	4.2	5.5	5.9	1.6	0.7	3.46	1.89	20.9
04-05	CLE	80	80	42.4	.472	.351	.750	1.4	6.0	7.3	7.2	2.2	0.6	3.27	1.82	27.2
05-06	CLE	79	79	42.5	.480	.335	.738	0.9	6.1	7.0	6.6	1.6	0.8	3.29	2.29	31.4
06-07	CLE	78	78	40.9	.476	.319	.698	1.1	5.7	6.7	6.0	1.6	0.7	3.21	2.19	27.3
07-08	CLE	75	74	40.4	.484	.315	.712	1.8	6.1	7.9	7.2	1.8	1.1	3.40	2.20	30.0
08-09	CLE	81	81	37.7	.489	.344	.780	1.3	6.3	7.6	7.2	1.7	1.2	2.98	1.72	28.4
09-10	CLE	76	76	38.6	.509	.368	.780	1.0	6.2	7.2	7.8	1.5	1.0	3.56	1.71	29.5
10-11	MIA	79	79	38.8	.510	.330	.759	1.0	6.5	7.5	7.0	1.6	0.6	3.6	2.1	26.7
Career	--	627	626	40.0	.483	.331	.745	1.2	6.0	7.2	6.9	1.7	0.8	3.3	1.6	27.7
All-Star	--	8	8	27	.532	.392	.760	0.9	6.1	7.0	6.1	1.4	0.2	3.13	1.38	25.9

Career Season Totals

Year	Team	G	GS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	DEF	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
03-04	CLE	79	79	3,120	622-1,492	63-217	347-460	99	333	432	465	130	58	273	149	1,654
04-05	CLE	80	80	3,387	795-1,684	108-308	477-636	111	477	588	577	177	52	262	146	2,175
05-06	CLE	79	79	3,360	875-1,823	127-379	601-814	75	481	556	522	123	66	260	181	2,478
06-07	CLE	78	78	3,190	772-1,621	99-310	489-701	83	443	526	470	125	55	250	171	2,132
07-08	CLE	75	74	3,026	794-1,642	113-359	549-771	133	459	592	539	138	81	255	165	2,250
08-09	CLE	81	81	3,054	789-1,613	132-384	594-762	106	507	613	587	137	93	241	139	2,304
09-10	CLE	76	76	2,965	419-823	71-193	302-387	43	253	296	319	62	39	146	70	1,211
10-11	MIA	79	79	3,063	758-1,485	92-279	503-663	80	510	590	554	124	50	284	163	2,111
Career	--	627	626	20,721	5,066-10,698	713-2,150	3,359-4,531	650	2,953	3,603	3,479	892	444	1,687	1,021	14,204
All-Star	--	5	5	119	49-95	13-34	6-11	4	29	33	26	7	2	15	5	117

Career Playoff Averages

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
05-06	CLE	13	13	46.5	0.476	0.333	0.737	1.7	6.4	8.1	5.8	1.4	0.7	5.00	3.38	30.8
06-07	CLE	20	20	44.6	0.416	0.280	0.755	1.3	6.8	8.0	8.0	1.7	0.5	3.30	2.00	25.0
07-08	CLE	13	13	42.5	0.411	0.257	0.731	1.2	6.6	7.8	7.6	1.8	1.3	4.15	2.54	28.2
08-09	CLE	14	14	41.4	0.510	0.333	0.749	1.4	7.8	9.1	7.3	1.6	0.9	2.71	2.14	35.3
Career	--	60	60	43.8	0.452	0.301	0.744	1.4	6.9	8.3	7.3	1.6	0.8	3.72	2.45	29.4

Career Playoff Totals

Year	Team	G	GS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OFF	DEF	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
05-06	CLE	13	13	604	146-307	21-63	87-118	22	83	105	76	18	9	65	44	400
06-07	CLE	20	20	892	166-399	21-75	148-196	26	135	161	159	34	10	66	40	501
07-08	CLE	13	13	551	113-275	18-70	122-167	16	86	102	99	23	17	54	33	366
08-09	CLE	14	14	579	159-312	27-81	149-199	19	109	128	102	23	12	38	30	494
Career	--	60	60	2,629	584-1,293	87-289	506-680	83	413	496	436	98	48	223	147	1,761