LeBron James is one of the most iconic basketball stars of all time, nicknamed “King James” and considered by many to be the “face of the NBA”. On Tuesday night in California, he became the NBAs’ all-time scoring leader, surpassing the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

1. One of the most accomplished basketball players of all time

James has won four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards and three All-Star MVP awards. In addition, he has also won two Olympic golds. He competed in 10 NBA Finals, the third most of all time, including eight Finals consecutively from 2011 to 2018.

He has been named an NBA All-Star 19 times, tying him with Abdul-Jabbar for most selections in NBA history.

2. A difficult childhood

James was born in 1984 to Gloria Marie James, who was 16. His father Anthony McClelland was not involved in his life. Growing up, his family often moved from apartment to apartment in Akron while his mother struggled to find a steady job. She soon realised that her son needed to live in a more stable family environment.

Aged eight, James was playing pee wee football for the South Side Rangers, a team coached by Frank Walker. It was Walker’s family who suggested that he move in with them while his mother worked to get back on her feet. Walker was also the one to convince James to join his first recreation-league basketball team, the Summit Lake Community Center Hornets.

3. Varsity football in high school

In high school, James played varsity football for St.Vincent-St. Mary High School for two full seasons, and was considered the No. 1 football prospect in Ohio. He was recruited to play football and offered scholarships by several notable colleges, including Ohio State and Notre Dame.

Despite just two seasons of playing varsity football, James still ranks seventh in his high school’s history with 27 career touchdowns and earned all-state honours in both his full seasons.

4. Origin of the nicknames “King James” and “Chosen One”

While James has had many nicknames, two that he has wholeheartedly embraced are “King James”, which he has adopted as his official Twitter handle and Instagram handle, and the “Chosen One”, which inspired the tattoo on his back that reads “Chosen 1”.

He was first called the chosen one when he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Feb. 18, 2002. His childhood friend Randy Mims revealed that other students began to call James “King James” back in high school.

5. Executive producer for 2Chainz’s rap album, Rap or Go to the League

James has a love for music, particularly hip-hop music, and has credited music with helping him get through hard days. In 2019 he was announced as the executive producer for 2Chainz’s album, which received widespread critical praise from critics and was a commercial success.

The album, with 14 songs, is titled Rap or Go to the League. It is meant to address the stereotype that young African-American men can only find success as athetes or rappers.

6. Roles in films, television

James has appeared in a number of films, notably starring as a fictionalised version of himself in Space Jam: A New Legacy, which he also produced. He has also appeared in the films More than a Game, Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants, Trainwreck, Black Ice and Smallfoot, where he provided the voice of Gwangi, a purple yeti.

He has been on a number of television programmes like The Simpsons, Teen Titans Go!, and Saturday Night Live. He is also the owner of a film production company called SpringHill Company.

7. A philanthropist

James is an active supporter of a number of non-profit organisations, including After-School All-Stars, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Children’s Defense Fund. He also founded his own charity foundation, the Lebron James Family Foundation, in 2004. The mission of the foundation is to positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education and co-curricular educational initiatives.

In 2018, he founded the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio. It is a public elementary school aimed at at-risk children. In 2021, the LeBron James Family Foundation is broke ground for its I Promise Housing in Akron. When complete, it will provide 50 units of two, three, and four-bedroom apartments for longer-term, affordable housing for families under the program.

In 2015 James partnered with the University of Akron and pledged up to US$42 million (S$55.7 million) to provide four-year scholarships to eleven hundred underserved students in the city.

8. A family man

James has three children with his wife, Savannah, whom he has been married to since 2013. The couple met while they were teenagers and had their first child, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. in 2004 when James was 19 and Savannah was 18. Their second son, Bryce Maximus, was born in 2007. Their daughter Zhuri, was born in 2014.

His sons have followed in their father’s footsteps, both playing varsity basketball at Sierra Canyon School in Los Angeles. In 2022, 20 years after his first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated, James graced the cover again with Bronny, 18, and Bryce, 15, in tow. The cover story was dubbed The Chosen Sons, in a reference to his iconic cover in 2002.

His daughter, Zhuri, 8, has her own YouTube channel called All Things Zhuri with over 200 thousand subscribers. James often posts about his family and children on social media.