NBA player LeBron James was born in December of 1984 in Akron, Ohio. LeBron James goes by the last name of his mother, Gloria, who gave birth to her son at sixteen years of age and raised him on her own. His father, who is an ex-convict, was never involved in his life. Gloria James worked hard to provide for her sons, as well as to keep him out of trouble.

LeBron James began playing basketball in elementary school. At this time, he was having a hard time making new friends and was ashamed of his home life. Basketball was, in a way, therapeutic for him. LeBron James also played football and when his mother was having financial problems, he ended up living with his football coach’s family. The coach is the one who taught him to shoot.

When LeBron James attended Saint Vincent-Saint Mary High School, he became a varsity football player for the Fighting Irish. James’ football career ended shortly after he grew to 6’7.” This is when James began focusing more on basketball.

During the summer that followed his sophomore year of high school, LeBron James was invited to the USA Basketball Developmental Festival in Colorado Springs. James, who was the first underclassmen to have ever been invited to the festival, became MVP after scoring 120 points in five games. At a camp at Fairleigh-Dickinson in New Jersey, LeBron James earned a lot of recognition for himself due to his high quality passing skills. He was compared to Magic Johnson at this point.

A rumor that said LeBron James was going to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft after high school began to surface. He denied that it was true. It was around this time that Michael Jordan invited LeBron James to play a scrimmage game with him against big-name basketball players.

LeBron James, who was a “B” student, began looking at colleges. At this time, people began wondering if he would just go straight to the NBA, however. Both Nike and Adidas wanted to sign James, and it was expected that he would receive at least $20 million in whatever deal he went with.

Aside from scoring record games at his high school, LeBron James ended up playing at the 26th Annual McDonald’s All-American High School Boys Basketball Game. He also played the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago. Since he had played in more than one all-star game, LeBron James was eligible for the NBA draft.

The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted LeBron James. He also ended up with an endorsement deal of $100 million. Although LeBron James is not the first basketball player who was drafted to the NBA straight from high school, many consider him to be the best.

Some of the major accomplishments that LeBron James has made include being ranked #1 on the Forbes Top Earners Under 25 in 2007 and being the first black and the third man to appear on Vogue’s cover. There is also a 2009 documentary called More Than a Game about LeBron James’ life.