LeBron James is a famous NBA star and one of the best basketball players in the world. He has won three championships so far, as well as two Olympic Gold Medals, and four Most Valuable Player Awards. LeBron’s fans gave him the nickname King James, and he is now becoming the basketball player with the highest net worth.
Early Life
This famous basketball player was born on December 30, 1984, and his full name is LeBron Raymone James. He was born in Akron, Ohio. His mother was very young and a single mother. She realized that she was not able to provide for LeBron on her own, so she left him in another family. This was Frank Walker’s family, who was a local football coach, and he was the one who helped LeBron with starting at basketball when he was only nine years old.
In 1999, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School recruited LeBron James, and he joined their basketball team. James showed that he had incredible talent and skills and helped his team win many titles. Not long after that, LeBron had an appearance in SLAM Magazine, as well as on the cover of another magazine, called Sports Illustrated.
LeBron James was considered the best high school basketball player in America, which helped him on his path to the NBA. He also won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award.
LeBron’s Successful NBA Career
LeBron was the first player to be picked in the NBA draft in 2003. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him. When his first professional season finished, LeBron won the NBA Rookie of the Year.
LeBron James was the youngest player who scored over 50 points in a game in the whole NBA history in 2005. The year after that, James was selected for the NBA All-Star Game. He won his first award for NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
Despite having managed to get his team into the NBA finals in 2007, LeBron James believed that it was not possible for him to win a championship on his own. This caused him to become a free agent in 2010. Later that same year LeBron signed with the Miami Heat. There he was a teammate to Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
LeBron and his new team got to four straight NBA finals, and they won the championship in the season of the years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.
In 2014, LeBron James went back to his old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, because he wanted them to win a championship. This plan became a reality in 2016.
In 2015, James signed a contract with Nike, and it was a lifetime deal. He is to earn over one billion dollars from this deal.
Endorsements
James’s first contract was with Nike in 2003, and it made him 90 million dollars. Not only has he worked with brands including Microsoft, Kia, Beats, but also Samsung, Upper Deck, and Coca-Cola. James’s earnings from these endorsements so far are estimated to be around 297 million dollars. Apart from that, he also made 86 million dollars from his line of Nike shoes.
The lesser known fact about LeBron is that he owns a digital video company which is named Uninterrupted. He also co-owns SpringHill Entertainment, a production company.
LeBron gained a profit of over 30 million dollars when Apple acquired Beats Electronics, a company with which he previously signed a deal.
LeBron James Net Worth 2024
In the year 2004, LeBron James’s net worth was approximately 11 million dollars, but his wealth has since increased immensely. His talent surpasses any other player today, which made him the highest paying player in the world. The following year, LeBron had around 25 million, and in 2010, he had almost 120 million dollars.
In the year 2013, James made over 202 million and managed to surpass Kobe Bryant, who was the highest-paid basketball player in the world. In 2016 James had a total of 275 million dollars, and he was on Forbes’ Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40.
The contract LeBron James signed with Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 is going to make him 30 million dollars per season. That means that he is now the third player in the NBA to make as much money, after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Even though LeBron James’s net worth this year maybe 311 million dollars, it is about to increase even more in the near future.
