James was born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984. He is 6 months old, he said, in this photo he posted to Instagram for his 35th birthday.
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A young James plays on a toy basketball hoop at Christmas time. "I guess I was kinda born to do this," he said on Instagram.
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James, left, poses with some of his teammates at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School during his freshman year.
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James throws down a dunk during a game in Trenton, New Jersey, in February 2003. James was just a junior in high school when he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "The Chosen One." He was such a star that ESPN aired some of his high school games.
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James shakes hands with NBA star Michael Jordan after Jordan played a game in Cleveland in April 2003. James chose the number 23 because of Jordan.
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As expected, James went straight from high school to the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick in the league draft. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, a long-suffering franchise close to his hometown of Akron.
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James goes up for a layup during his NBA debut on October 29, 2003. He scored 25 points in a loss at Sacramento. In his first season in the NBA, James won the league's Rookie of the Year Award.
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James played on the US Olympic basketball team in August 2004, but it ended with a disappointing bronze medal. He would be back.
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James, center, goes up for a rebound with Tim Duncan during the 2006 NBA All-Star Game. He was named the game's most valuable player — the youngest to ever receive the award.
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James sits with his young son, Bronny, and teammate Drew Gooden during a game in Cleveland in March 2007.
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James misses a potential game-tying 3-pointer in Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals. James' Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
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James hosts the ESPY Awards in July 2007. This played off his "King James" nickname.
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James appears on stage with rapper Jay-Z during a Cleveland concert for presidential candidate Barack Obama in October 2008.
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James, seen here between Dwyane Wade and head coach Mike Krzyzewski, returned to the Olympics in August 2008 as part of the "Redeem Team" that went on to win gold.
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James celebrates after hitting a game-winning shot to win a playoff game against Orlando in May 2009.
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James won his first league MVP award in May 2009. He would also win the award in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
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James gets a kiss from his mother after a playoff game in May 2010.
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In July 2010, James speaks with ESPN's Jim Gray at the Boys & Girls Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was there that he announced, live on an ESPN program called "The Decision," that he would be leaving Cleveland to play for the Miami Heat. "I'm going to take my talents to South Beach," said James, who was a free agent. The show raised millions of dollars for the Boys & Girls Club, but James' decision to leave Cleveland — and announce it live on national television — was criticized by many.
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James greets Miami fans during a pep rally at the American Airlines Arena in July 2010. He was joined by Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, the other two stars in the Heat's "Big 3" superteam. During the event, James boasted about how many titles they would win together.
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Wade reacts as James dunks the ball during a game in Milwaukee in December 2010. They made the NBA Finals in their first season together but lost to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.
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James reads in the locker room before an NBA Finals game in June 2012. The Heat were back in the Finals, this time facing the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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James dunks over Serge Ibaka during Game 2 of the Finals in June 2012. The Heat went on to win in five games, giving James his first NBA title.
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James celebrates with teammates after the Heat won the 2012 NBA Finals. James is holding the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, right, and the Bill Russell Finals MVP Award.
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James was part of the 2012 Olympic team that successfully defended its gold medal in London.
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James describes his excitement as the Heat visit the White House in January 2013: "We're in the White House right now, which is like 'Mama, I made it.'"
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James and the Heat defended their title in the 2013 NBA Finals, defeating San Antonio in seven games. James was once again Finals MVP.
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James and Savannah Brinson attend the 2013 ESPY Awards in July 2013. The two married in September of that year. They have three children together: Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri.
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James appears on a Nike poster outside Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena in October 2014, a few months after he announced that he would be returning to the Cavaliers as a free agent.
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James poses with his new "Big 3" in Cleveland: Kevin Love, left, and Kyrie Irving.
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James appears as himself in the 2015 comedic film "Trainwreck" starring Bill Hader, right, and Amy Schumer.
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James, seen here in March 2015, was determined to bring Cleveland its first championship in franchise history. "I'm ready to accept the challenge," he said when he revealed his plans to return to the Cavaliers. "I"m coming home." The Cavs made the NBA Finals in his first season back, but they fell short to the Golden State Warriors.
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James runs down Golden State's Andre Iguodala on a play in the 2016 NBA Finals that became known simply as "The Block." The defensive play, late in Game 7, helped lift the Cavaliers past the Warriors in what was a rematch from the year before.
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An emotional James hugs Love after Cleveland defeated Golden State to win the title in 2016.
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James tries to direct teammate J.R. Smith on a last-second play in the 2018 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers and the Warriors played in four straight NBA Finals, from 2015 to 2018. The Warriors won three of the four.
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James addresses a crowd at the grand opening of his "I Promise" school in Akron in July 2018. James' foundation teamed with the Akron Public Schools system to open a school supporting at-risk children.
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James signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in July 2018. Here, he drives to the basket during a home game against Washington in November 2019.
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James and the Lakers won a title together in 2020, when the entire playoffs were held in Florida because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was James' fourth NBA title.
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James appears with Tweety Bird in the film "Space Jam: A New Legacy" in 2021.
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James poses with his two sons — Bronny, left, and Bryce — at his former high school in Akron in July 2022. Bronny was one of the best high school players in the country, and his dad said he wants to finish his career by playing with him in the NBA.
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James breaks Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record of 38,387 points during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023.
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James scores his 40,000th career point during a game against the Denver Nuggets on March 2, 2024. He is the first player in NBA history accomplish the milestone.
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