LeBron may be the GOAT when it comes to basketball, but he's also a big family man. Here's what to know about his life off of the court. (2024)

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LeBron James and his wife, Savannah, have been together throughout his entire professional basketball career.

James was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and met his now-wife, Savannah Brinson, when he was still in high school at nearby St. Vincent-St. Mary. She was a sophom*ore — a year behind James — at a rival high school when James asked a mutual friend for her phone number.

"I'm like, 'Um, nope. I'll take his number,' " she told Cleveland Magazine. "One day I'm sitting around — I was probably bored or something — and I'm like, 'Oh, I forgot! I have this number for this guy that I can call. He seemed interested, so let's see.' "

By then, James was already a renowned NBA prospect, but Brinson knew little about him or his basketball prowess. He invited her to one of his games and, later, to Applebee's with a group of friends.

They had their first one-on-one date at Outback Steakhouse shortly thereafter. The couple has been together ever since, though they didn't tie the knot until 2013 — more than a decade after they started dating.

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As LeBron grew into a basketball superstar, he and Savannah began embarking on business and charitable ventures together as a couple.

LeBron and Savannah grew into fame and fortune side by side. And as their wealth grew, so too did their collaborative spirit; the couple has worked together to determine how to spend, invest, and donate the billion-dollar pot LeBron has earned throughout his basketball career.

Savannah has been a major contributor to the LeBron James Family Foundation, which aims to provide support for at-risk students. She launched her own endeavor, Akron: Women of Our Future, to help provide mentors for young women at her alma mater, Buchtel High School. Savannah has been involved in severalother philanthropic ventures, including an event that helps outfit Akron students for prom each year.

She's embarked on several business ventures, too. Savannah has worked as an interior designer, started a furniture line alongside her husband, and invested in Lobos Tequila, a web 3 start-up called Lockerverse, and a natural deodorant company called NEZ, she told The Cut. At one point, she even opened a juice shop.

But Savannah's biggest job, by far, has been raising her children and running a household, even through the prying eyes of the public.LeBron has said repeatedly that he would be nothing without Savannah by his side, which she says is both affirming and, frankly, true.

"It's very nice to hear that the sacrifices that you've made and the work that you've put into making sure that our children are raised properly and that he has a stable environment that's full of love and good vibes and all the things — it's a testament to be told that," Savannah told The Cut. "I think it's a testament to myself to be like, 'Yeah, thank you. I did that.'"

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LeBron and Savannah welcomed their first child, LeBron "Bronny" James Jr., in October 2004.

LeBron "Bronny" James Jr. was born in Cleveland on October 6, 2004. At the time, his father was fresh off of winning Rookie of the Year thanks to a 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game in his debut season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Savannah has suggested that she and LeBron were not planning to start their family when they learned she was expecting during his rookie season. She feared having a child could have a negative impact on LeBron's basketball career.

"I was very scared. I was bawling," Savannah told Harper's Bazaar, per Parade. "But he said, 'It's not going to slow me down, and it's not going to slow you down. We're going to keep doing what we have to do.'"

Bronny quickly became a familiar face around Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — formerly known as Gund Arena and Quicken Loans Arena. The little tyke could often be seen sitting with his mom and paternal grandmother, Gloria James, courtside at his dad's games.

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Their second son, Bryce Maximus, was born less than three years later.

LeBron was a bona fide superstar by the time Savannah gave birth to their second son, Bryce Maximus, in June 2007. He had led the formerly wayward Cavaliers to back-to-back playoff appearances, earned three All-Star nods, and been named All-Star Game MVP ahead of Bryce's arrival.

Like his older brother, Bryce became a regular at Cleveland's games.

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Dad's work brought the James family from Ohio to sunny Miami in 2010.

Though the James boys were both born in Cleveland, they spent a good portion of their childhoods living in Florida. In 2010, LeBron announced via an infamous 75-minute television special dubbed "The Decision" that he was "going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat" after seven seasons with the Cavaliers.

Bronny was 5 and Bryce was 3 at the time of the move, so the pair embarked on school and athletics during their time in Miami. The boys were exposed to several sports — not just basketball — in their early years, though "football and hockey" were not allowed in the James' house.

"It's a safety thing," LeBron told ESPN in 2014. "As a parent you protect your kids as much as possible. I don't think I'm the only one that's not allowing his kids to play football, it's just that I'm LeBron James and it gets put in the headlines for no reason."

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LeBron, Savannah, and their sons returned home to Ohio in 2014 and added a fifth member to the family.

After winning back-to-back championships and earning two MVP awards over four seasons with the Heat, LeBron rejoined the Cavaliers and sought to do what had never been done before: bring a championship home to Cleveland.

But first, the newly married LeBron and Savannah welcomed their third child, daughter Zhuri Nova, into the world. And before she reached two years old, LeBron had reached his goal of winning a title in his home city, leading the Cavaliers back from a 3-1 2016 Finals deficit for the very first time in NBA history.

At that point, Bronny and Bryce were taking their basketball prospects a bit more seriously. By the time he was just 10 years old, the eldest James child was regularly making headlines for his skills on the court.

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Bronny began stepping into the limelight once LeBron joined the Lakers and moved the family to Los Angeles in 2018.

Bronny was a teenager when his dad decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers. The eldest finished out middle school at Santa Monica's Crossroads School, and in his first game for the middle school team, he dropped 27 points and threw down a dunk.

Just before starting high school, he debuted at Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (NEYBL) — one of the top youth basketball circuits in the US. And then he and Bryce enrolled at Sierra Canyon School, which boasts one of the best high school basketball programs in the country.

Bronny showed promise coming off the bench during his freshman season, but missed most of his sophom*ore year due to a torn meniscus and the COVID-19 pandemic. He started to come in to his own as a junior, when he averaged 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, according to Max Preps.

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By his senior year, Bronny became a highly touted college recruit and a McDonald's All-American.

Even with the brightest lights shining down on him, Bronny enjoyed the best season of his high school career during his senior season at Sierra Canyon. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per contest, according to Max Preps, and helped Sierra Canyon to the state semifinals.

All the while, Bronny was navigating his closely watched college recruitment. Several top programs became interested in the 6-foot-3 point guard, but he narrowed his search to three Nike schools: Oregon, Ohio State, and USC.

He committed to the latter in May, just after participating in the prestigious Nike Hoop Summit and McDonald's All-American Game.

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Just before his college career was set to begin, Bronny suffered a health scare.

On July 24, Bronny experienced cardiac arrest while practicing on USC's campus. He was reportedly unconcious when a 911 call for James was made at 9:26 a.m. local time from the Galen Center, where the team plays and practices.

A family spokesperson told Insider that medical staff treated Bronny and took him to the hospital, where he was admitted into the ICU. He was discharged from the ICU within 24 hours and was said to be in stable condition.

The 18-year-old was widely expected to be atop pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and there was speculation that his father could try to join him on whichever team selects him. But the cause of Bronny's health scare, how it impacts his first season as a Trojan, and whether it will influence his professional basketball prospects all still remain to be seen.

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Bryce has rapidly become a star to watch in his own right.

While his older brother consumed most of the spotlight during his high school years, Bryce came into his basketball adolescence relatively under the radar — well, as much as a basketball player in the James family could.

When Bryce was just 11 years old, LeBron deemed him "the best shooter in this household" in a Twitter post sharing his son's highlights. Since then, Bryce has surpassed his older brother in height — growing to an impressive 6-foot-6 by his freshman year of high school — and gained some serious attention in basketball circles.

The middle James child didn't get much playing time during his first season at Sierra Canyon, but he started to impress on the Nike EYBL circuitwith his Strive For Greatness squad. He opted to transfer high schools, landing at Los Angeles' Campbell Hall — famous for hosting future NBA players Aaron,Jrue, andJustin Holiday — ahead of his sophom*ore season.

Bryce will debut at Campbell Hall as a four-star college recruit and the 18th-best player in California for the Class of 2025, per ESPN's rankings. He's already received a scholarship offer to play for the Duquesne Dukes of the A10, and if he breaks through at Campbell Hall, he can expect many more colleges to begin soliciting his services.

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Zhuri hasn't shown much public interest in playing basketball, but she's making her mark as a 'kid blogger.'

LeBron and Savannah's youngest child, Zhuri, has yet to show an aptitude for basketball like her older brothers — thought there's still plenty of time for that to change if she wants. She's dabbled in volleyball, as her dad has noted in past Instagram stories, but the 8-year-old's most notable interest so far appears to be blogging.

Zhuri — monitored closely by her parents — runs successful "kid blogger" accounts on Instagram and YouTube. She showcases "cuteness, recipes, DIY, family adventures, pranks, tutorials, and more" through her various social media channels, per her YouTube description, and has amassed more than half a million followers across both platforms.