Slam dunk love story! LeBron James and his wife, Savannah James, are relationship goals — and started out as high school sweethearts.
The couple met as students in the early 2000s, and Savannah was by her man’s side when he signed his first NBA contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After his rookie season, the pair welcomed their first child, LeBron James Jr., in 2004. Son Bryce Maximus joined the family in 2007, four years before LeBron and Savannah got engaged.
“I just love him so much. We’re soul mates,” Savannah gushed to Harper’s Bazaar in 2010, revealing what makes her relationship with the athlete work. The ESPY winner chimed in, adding, “A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she’s that. She’s got my back, and I love her for that.”
The pair exchanged vows in September 2013, one year before welcoming daughter Zhuri. Not only is the Ohio native an all-star on the basketball court, but he’s also a champion for his family at home.
“What I’ve learned is to get the best out of my three kids, I can’t approach them all the same way because they all have different personalities,” the LeBron James Family Foundation head said during a 2018 podcast interview. “They all are different, and I had to find out how to tap into each one of my kids to get the same results but teach them differently, and that’s the same with being the leader of a basketball team or a franchise. … The number one thing is patience.”
Savannah, for her part, opened up about feeling like her husband’s first priority despite their busy schedules. “He is truly a king to his queen, if you will,” she told Cleveland Magazine in 2020. “He treats me with so much respect — I mean, it’s hard to not love him, with the way that he is with me and the kids and his mom and just everyone who’s around him. He’s a really, really humble guy for everything that he has and everything that he’s done.”
As a couple, both LeBron and Savannah are dedicated to giving back. “He’s super, super passionate about his philanthropic endeavors. He’s super, super passionate about his athletic abilities, doing everything he needs to do to stay in tip-top shape to make sure that he can help his team do what they need to do on the court,” she added. “I just try to mirror that drive in everything that I do.”
Scroll down for a look back at the dynamic duo’s romance:
The twosome met while attending high school in Akron, Ohio. Shutterstock
LeBron officially made it into the NBA, signing as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first draft pick. The pair attended Savannah’s senior prom during LeBron’s rookie season. Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
LeBron James Jr. (a.k.a. Bronny) was born on October 6, 2004. Courtesy Savannah James/Instagram
Three years later, son Bryce arrived on June 14, 2007. Courtesy Savannah James/Instagram
After less than a decade with his home state’s NBA team, LeBron was traded to the Miami Heat. During his four years with the Florida team, the forward led the Heat to consecutive championship victories in 2012 and 2013. J Pat Carter/AP/Shutterstock
“It felt like a finals game,” LeBron gushed in an interview after proposing to his longtime love. “I had been thinking about it for a while but it just came to me one day and I was like, ‘This is just another part of growth for me.’ You know, I was like, ‘This is the lady, the woman I have been with through all the good and all the bad.’ She’s been there for a long time and I wanted her to continue to be there with me, so I felt like at that moment it was time.” Lynne Sladky/AP/Shutterstock
The pair tied the knot in San Diego on September 14, 2013, in front of their closest friends and family including Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and more. Beyoncé and Jay Z even performed to celebrate the couple’s love. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Daughter Zhuri was born on October 22, 2014. Courtesy Savannah James/Instagram
The family of five moved back to Cleveland as LeBron returned to play for the Cavaliers. The team won the NBA Finals that year. Mediapunch/Shutterstock
LeBron left the Cavaliers again after four seasons, heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Matt Baron/Shutterstock
During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, LeBron and Savannah enjoyed quality time at home with their kids. “My gang gang litty😂😂,” the mother of three teased via Instagram. Courtesy Savannah James/Instagram
LeBron attended the premiere of Space Jam: A New Legacy — in which he played himself — with his daughter. Broadimage/Shutterstock
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