Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – LeBron James, blessed with unparalleled basketball skills and astonishing longevity, will embark on a 24th NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he will aim to win a fifth championship, he announced on Friday. It is the “last decision” for the league’s all-time leading scorer — a player dubbed “The Chosen One” when he was still in high school, who has embraced excellence ever since, and never been afraid to use the platform of his superstardom.
“I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship,” wrote James, who is reported to have signed a two-year deal. James became the league’s all-time leading scorer in February of 2023, passing the mark of 38,387 that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had held since April 5, 1984 — more than eight months before James was born.
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The trophies and records speak for themselves: he currently has more than 43,000 regular season points, four NBA titles, four NBA Finals Most Valuable Player awards, four regular-season MVPs, three Olympic gold medals and 22 NBA All-Star nods. James holds a record streak of 1,297 regular-season games with at least 10 points, that ran from January 2007 to December 2025. He held the record as the youngest player to score 40 points in a game for two decades — until Cooper Flagg broke it last season — and remains the oldest player to score 40 in a game.
– ‘King James’ –
James has forged a unique identity in his quest to be the best player of all time, continuing to burnish his legend as he extends a career of monumental achievements often built on harsh failures. The evolution of “King James” into NBA royalty came after a precarious early life as his mother, Gloria, 16 when he was born, struggled as a single mom.
“I came from the projects, I saw the drugs, the weapons, the murders,” James has said of his early childhood in Akron, Ohio. Things changed when youth football coach Frank Walker spotted him. Impressed by James’s physical abilities, Walker pointed him toward basketball, and persuaded Gloria to allow him to move in with the Walker family.
By 12, James had already caught the attention of high school recruiters. He opted for St. Vincent-St. Mary, a predominantly white school, over John Buchtel High School, where a cheerleader, Savannah Brinson, his future wife and mother of their three children, was studying. The choice kept James with his friends, including Maverick Carter, who remains his partner in projects ranging from cinema to sports club ownership and which, added to James’s salary and sponsorship contracts, made him the NBA’s first active billionaire.
At 18, James became the youngest top pick in draft history when his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers took him number one in 2003. He inked an unprecedented $90 million endorsement deal with Nike before he played a pro game and led the Cavaliers in scoring, steals and minutes played in his first season. He lost his first two Finals appearances — with the Cavs in 2007 and with Miami in 2011 — having decided in 2010 to “take my talents to South Beach” in a free agent move announced, to some derision, in an ESPN special.
In Miami, however, James would find himself surrounded by a competitive team. He won his first NBA title in 2012 and added a second in 2013 — when he garnered a fourth season MVP award to go with those he won in 2009, 2010 and 2012. His fourth straight Finals appearance ended in a heavy loss to the San Antonio Spurs and James, vilified by Cavs fans after his departure, decided to return to Cleveland to address unfinished business. Four more Finals appearances followed, all against Golden State. James and the Cavs lost three, the exception the Cavs’ epic return from 3-1 down in the best-of-seven series to win the 2016 title.
James became the first player in NBA history to lead all players in a playoff series in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks as he delivered Cleveland’s first NBA title and the city’s first sports championship since the Browns won the 1964 NFL crown. James’s soaring block of an Andre Iguodala shot in game seven remains an iconic image of his career.
– Unapologetic activist –
With 150 million Instagram followers, James has also become an influential voice on racial and social justice. His I Promise school in Akron is a groundbreaking public school aimed at serving not only at-risk students but also their families. An outspoken critic of Donald Trump during his first term as US President, James was unfazed by a right wing media critic’s admonition to “shut up and dribble,” and his efforts in turning out Black voters in 2020 was a “game changer” in the election that put Joe Biden in the White House.
Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement and in the NBA’s “Covid bubble,” James won his fourth NBA title in 2020 with the Los Angeles Lakers. His tenure with the storied California franchise saw him evolve into the ultimate elder statesman. He mentored the likes of Slovenian star Luka Doncic and achieved his long-cherished dream of playing alongside son Bronny, before making his “last decision” to move to Philadelphia.
© 2024 AFP
