History UsefulNotes / LeBronJames

** The argument can be made that he's this to Kevin Durant, who admittedly joined the Golden State Warriors to not only beat [=LeBron=] James but also (temporarily) usurped him as the best player in the NBA.

** Before the 2021 NBA Playoffs, [=LeBron=] himself was seen as that for every single first round opponent for every single team he went up against. Before matching up against the Phoenix Suns that season as the #7 seed, he managed to never lose an entire series in the first round to anyone whenever he entered the NBA Playoffs, usually making due with his opponents there with little to no trouble whatsoever. In fairness to [=LeBron=] and the Lakers, his team was one of only two total teams to have little rest between playing in the 2020 NBA Finals and starting the 2020-21 season only two months later. However, after leading against the Suns 2-1 at one point, Anthony Davis ended up with injury issues, which combined with the Suns being extra motivated by perceived embarrassment in Game 3 of that series caused by [=LeBron=] himself ([[AndZoidberg and Andre Drummond on the bench]]), led to his first defeat in a series to someone in the first round.[[note]]The Suns were also able to defeat Kobe Bryant in the first round during the late 2000's, interestingly enough. That season's Suns team eventually made it to the NBA Finals before losing in 6 games to the Milwaukee Bucks, led by an injury recovering Giannis Antetokounmpo.[[/note]]

Considered to be the face of the league since at least the start of the 2010s, if not earlier than that, [=LeBron=] is the NBA's all-time leader in points scored and is the holder of four NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards. With numerous other awards such as four NBA Finals MVP awards, an NBA scoring title, selection to the NBA All-Star Game (all as a starter) in all but one of his 20 seasons in the league, records of 18 overall and 13 first-team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, and two Olympic Gold Medals, he is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player since UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan (and some will argue that James is superior). Not to mention that he's the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]

Considered to be the face of the league since at least the start of the 2010s, if not earlier than that, [=LeBron=] is the NBA's all-time leader in points scored and is the holder of four NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards. With numerous other awards such as four NBA Finals MVP awards, an NBA scoring title, selection to the NBA All-Star game in all but one of his 20 seasons in the league, records of 18 overall and 13 first-team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, and two Olympic Gold Medals, he is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player since UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan (and some will argue that James is superior). Not to mention that he's the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]

%% *{{Nepotism}}: [=LeBron=] James Sr. to [=LeBron=] James Jr. (or Bronny, as he's more commonly known to people in the scouting department), to the point where [=LeBron=] Sr. himself has reiterated that he'd like to end his basketball career having his son, Bronny, playing with him on the same team that gets him drafted once he's considered eligible for it. [=LeBron=] also has a young son named Bryce James that also is projected to play professionally someday himself, though [=LeBron=] likely would consider himself too old to even suggest playing alongside Bryce by then.

[=LeBron=] Raymone James (born December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio) is an UsefulNotes/{{N|ationalBasketballAssociation}}BA small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers. Previously, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, winning championships for each team he's played (coincidentally, every time he left for another team he would win in his second year).

* NumerologicalMotif: He became the all-time leading scorer by getting point 38388. On that day he scored 38 points. He was 38 years old. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the record for 38 years. This happened on the 7th of february....aka the [[HolyshitQuotient 38th day of the year]].

In 2018 when he once again became a free agent and then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers fans were left sad but not angered this time around, thanking him for leading the Cavaliers to four consecutive Finals appearances and one championship, Cleveland's first in over 50 years. In a sense, he accomplished his goal that he first set out for Cleveland back when he first joined the Cavaliers back in 2003.

** The 2019-20 season can also be considered that for the him and the Los Angeles Lakers due to the emotional turmoil they had to deal with around the start of 2020 onward. First, [=LeBron=] and the Lakers had to deal with the emotional baggage of team legend (and former rival to James) Kobe Bryant tragically dying unexpectedly on January 26, 2020 before then figuring out how to deal with the eventual worldwide turmoil that was the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic once that virus hit U.S. shores in March, just when the Lakers ''finally'' broke their longest Playoff drought in team history. Once it was decided the NBA could resume their season (albeit at Ride/WaltDisneyWorld via the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for the rest of that season), the Lakers alongside every other NBA team competing at the time had to deal with the environmental changes that came from the unfamiliar settings at hand. However, while the Lakers did not finish off their regular season so strongly at the complex, they did play the 2020 NBA Playoffs like they would any other Playoff year, competing as hard as they could under some very good competition that had already qualified there (mostly by default). Once entering the Playoffs, they managed to beat each Western Conference opponent 4-1 in each series before having [=LeBron=]'s former team, the Miami Heat, come up to them and take their upstart selves to six games before ultimately losing to James and the Lakers in a blowout favoring the Lakers for not just their 17th championship (tying the Boston Celtics for that all-time glory, as well as dedicating this one to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna), but James' fourth with three different teams.

* EasilyForgiven: When [=LeBron=] left his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, just about the entire city felt betrayed and [=LeBron=] became an instant villain, as well as arguably the most hated sports figure in Cleveland's history (his only competition being [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Modell Art]] [[http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/09/art_modell_never_really_recove.html Modell]] during that time). Fans burned his memorabilia in protest and anguish, his murals in Cleveland were either removed, defaced, or both, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep-9sSKa0RA a spoof of his infamous "What should I do?" Nike ad was released by the city of Cleveland in response to his decision]], and his presence at the Cavaliers' home arena elicited "Wrestling/RomanReigns the day after he retired Wrestling/TheUndertaker" levels of boos and fan vitriol, plus the need for increased security personnel.\\\

* TheAce: Considered to be one for the Cavaliers, especially in the 2017-2018 season where he led Cleveland to the Finals, despite the Cavs having major issues due to roster changes (such as losing perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving to Boston in what turned out to be a lopsided deal in the Celtics' favor). [=LeBron=] took it to another level when the media and the fans seriously started to consider that he might be better than UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, who is by far the consensus best player in NBA history, and considered by many to be untouchable in that regard. James mostly earned this distinction by winning his conference eight years in a row, with two different teams (Miami and Cleveland); only one other player has appeared in the Finals in as many consecutive years while also being a league MVP (Bill Russell did so 10 times from 1957-66, all with the same Boston Celtics team). After moving to the L.A. Lakers, he led them to a championship in his second season after barely missing the playoffs his first season there, winning it for Kobe Bryant after a long, hard, arduous season that impacted the Lakers physically, mentally, and emotionally.
** To put it in perspective, consider this. Out of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Jordan has the most points, Bird has the most rebounds and Magic has the most assists. James has more points than Jordan, more rebounds than Bird and more assists than Magic.

** On January 15, 2023, James became the only other player in NBA history to reach the 38,000 point milestone barrier in a match against the Philadelphia 76ers. Less than a month later, on February 7, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer, a record that was once considered impossible for someone in the NBA to break back in the day. He scored 38 points (with the last basket made being a fadeaway jumpshot near the end of the third quarter) in front of a home crowd that also featured Kareem himself in the stands in a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. To put into perspective how incredible his moment was, it was done while James had to play in ''three different seasons shortened by factors completely out of his control'' (the first being cut to 66 games due to the 2011 NBA lockout period and the last two being cut completely unexpectedly due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the effects it had upon the world in the years 2020 & 2021 in particular), meaning he could have legitimately gotten to those milestones of his a lot sooner than that had those other three seasons been more normalized by comparison!

** On February 7, 2023, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer, a record that was once considered impossible for someone in the NBA to break back in the day.

%% *{{Nepotism}}: [=LeBron=] James Sr. to [=LeBron=] James Jr. (or Bronny, as he's more commonly known to people in the scouting department), to the point where [=LeBron=] Sr. himself has reiterated that he'd like to end his basketball career having his son, Bronny, playing with him on the same team that gets him drafted once he's considered eligible for it. [=LeBron=] also has a young son named Bryce James that also is projected to play professionally someday, though [=LeBron=] would consider himself too old to even suggest playing alongside Bryce by then.

** On the 7th of February, 2023, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer.

[=LeBron=] Raymone James (born December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio) is an UsefulNotes/{{N|ationalBasketballAssociation}}BA small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers. Previously, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, winning championships for each team he's played (coincidentally, every time he left for another team he would win in his second year). He is the all-time leading scorer in nba history, in both the regular season and playoffs.

He produced and has starred in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Film/SpaceJam'' (which, fittingly, had starred Jordan). His likeness also appears in ''VideoGame/MultiVersus'', voiced by Creator/JohnEricBentley. His next film project was ''Film/{{House Party|2023}}'' (2023).

** During the 2021-22 season, James not only reached the 10,000 rebound barrier to become the first player to surpass it while also scoring 30,000 points in the NBA, but he also reached 10,000 assists as well, becoming the only player in NBA history to reach those kinds of numbers there. Not only that, he also surpassed Karl Malone for the second-best scorer in NBA history while also being the second player to ever reach the 37,000 point barrier at 37,062 by the end of the season (now being behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for that ultimate milestone in terms of regular season games played[[note]](Currently, James has surpassed Abdul-Jabbar in terms of overall points scored through combining both the NBA's regular season and playoffs totals, with [=LeBron=] now only needing to average around 16.2 points per game next season (presuming he plays all 82 regular season games) to surpass Kareem's overall regular season points record of 38,387.)[[/note]]) at 37 years old. He also became the oldest player to average 30 points per game in a season that year, thus sort of bookending his career back when he was the youngest player ever to average 30 points per game when he was 21 years old.

** Michael Jordan is this to him. While it's debatable who is the better player, Jordan has the accolades to back him up, winning as many Finals series as [=LeBron=] has lost. [=LeBron=] himself has stated that his main motivation is to catch "the ghost [who] played in Chicago".

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lebron_james_lakers_greatest.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[=LeBron= breaking the all-time scoring record]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lebron_james.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:LeBron and his championships troughout the years.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/59e63dbc92808.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[=LeBron=] in his second stint with the Cavs.]]

[=LeBron=] Raymone James (born December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio) is an UsefulNotes/{{N|ationalBasketballAssociation}}BA small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers. Previously, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, winning championships for each team he's played.

* NumerologicallMotif: He became the all-time leading scorer by getting point 38388. On that day he scored 38 points. He was 38 years old. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the record for 38 years. This happened on the 7th of february....aka the [[HolyshitQuotient 38th day of the year]].

* NumericalMotif: He became the all-time leading scorer by getting point 38388. On that day he scored 38 points. He was 38 years old. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the record for 38 years. This happened on the 7th of february....aka the [[HolyshitQuotient 38th day of the year]].

He produced and has starred in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Film/SpaceJam'' (which, fittingly, had starred Jordan). His likeness also appears in ''VideoGame/MultiVersus'', voiced by Creator/JohnEricBentley. His next film project will be ''Film/HouseParty2023''.

Considered to be the face of the league since at least the start of the 2010s, if not earlier than that, [=LeBron=] is the holder of four NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards as is the NBA's all-time leader in points scored. With numerous other awards such as four NBA Finals MVP awards, an NBA scoring title, selection to the NBA All-Star game in all but one of his 20 seasons in the league, records of 18 overall and 13 first-team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, two Olympic Gold Medals, and the NBA's all-time leading points record, he is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player since UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan (and some will argue that James is superior). Not to mention that he's the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]

Considered to be the face of the league since at least the start of the 2010s, if not earlier than that, [=LeBron=] is the holder of four NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards as is the NBA's all-time leader in points scored. With numerous other awards such as four NBA Finals MVP awards, an NBA scoring title, selection to the NBA All-Star game in all but one of his 20 seasons in the league, records of 18 overall and 13 first-team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, and two Olympic Gold Medals, he is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player since UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan (and some will argue that James is superior). Not to mention that he's the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]