LeBron Raymone James (IPA-enl??br?npron; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball (Ohio Mr. Basketball)" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. At just 18, he was selected with the number one pick (List of first overall NBA draft picks) in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers and signed a US$ (United States dollar)90 million shoe contract with Nike (Nike, Inc.) before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records (Career achievements of LeBron James#Youngest player records) since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year (NBA Rookie of the Year Award) in 2003-04 (2003-04 NBA season), NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008-09 (2008-09 NBA season) and 2009-10 (2009-10 NBA season), and has been both All-NBA and an All-Star every season since 2005.

The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James has led the team to consecutive playoff (NBA Playoffs) appearances from 2006 (2006 NBA Playoffs) through 2010 (2010 NBA Playoffs). In 2007 (2007 NBA Playoffs), the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals (NBA Conference Finals) for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA Finals (2007 NBA Finals) for the first time in franchise history. James has been a member of the USA national team (United States mens national basketball team), winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics (Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics) and gold (gold medal) at the 2008 Olympics (Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics).