LeBron James

LeBron James is a professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the NBA. Prior to 2010, James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is also a member of the United States men's national basketball team.c James has statistically been a leading player in the NBA, and is beginning to gain comparisons to such Hall of Fame legends as Michael Jordan. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA for the 2008-2009 season. He received the honor a second year in a row, being named MVP again in 2010.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4135263http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/2010/04/30/2010-04-30_lebron_wins_second_nba_mvp_award.html

James underwent surgery to remove a benign growth from his jaw on June 2, 2009. He was released from the hospital the following day and was said to be recovering well.http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/11817000

In the 2010 Playoffs, LeBron had an elbow injury, but continued to play. Eventually, the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics and were eliminated from the Eastern Conference Playoffs.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/sports/basketball/14celtics.html

During the 2010 NBA Free Agency season, James was considered the most eligible free agent in the league. Several teams were courting him, including the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat. The Cavaliers wanted to resign James to an extension and had brought in new coach Bryon Scott in an attempt to keep him there.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5360533

James decided to make his announcement publicly by sitting down for an hour-long special called The Decision on ESPN. The show was hosted by ESPN analysts Stuart Scott, Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon and James had all of the advertising proceeds donated to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Half an hour into the show, James revealed that he would be joining friends Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5360533 Commenting on the pay cut he took to make the move, James said, "All three of us are ultimately going to take less money because we all wanted to play alongside each other, and we feel like we can be great together."http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365165

Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert responded to the move on the Cavs website, saying "This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional buildup...Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us." Gilbert went on to call James' action "a cowardly betrayal" and guaranteed that the Cavaliers would win a championship before James ever did.http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5365165

ESPN was heavily criticized after the special aired. The network ombudsman called the program "an awkward, uncomfortable, staged one-hour special" and said that if the company believed it could air it without criticism, it should have been titled The Delusion. A reporter from the Los Angeles Daily News asked "How does anyone believe anything else ESPN reports about James from this point forward?" The sports columnist for the Washington Post said, "The most troubling aspect of the whole ill-conceived mess was ESPN's willingness to hand over an hour of prime-time television to an egomaniacal athlete the network should be covering as a news story."http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=ohlmeyer_don&id=5397113

During the 2009 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, James announced that he would be "putting his name in" for the 2010 Slam Dunk competition.YouTube Video: LeBron James on competing the 2010 Slam Dunk competition (Time: 0:52)

On March 25, 2009, James became the second person, joining Oscar Robertson, to record 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in more than four seasons.CBSSports.com: LeBron Joins Hall of Famer Robertson in Exclusive Club

James came under fire in February of 2009 after recording a career-high 52 points as well as a triple-double in a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. After the game, many bloggers claimed that the last rebound, which was credited to James and was his 10th of the game, should have been awarded to Ben Wallace. The NBA later agreed and transferred the stat to Wallace, leaving James with nine rebounds for the game.CBSSports.com: LeBron Loses Triple-double as NBA Gives Board to Big Ben

In January of 2009, James appeared in a television commercial for the State Farm Insurance Company. In the commercial, which was played during the January 18, 2009, AFC and NFC Championship Games, James dreams that he leaves the NBA to play for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League.YouTube Video: LeBron James - "Brace Yourself" AdCBSSports.com: LeBron to Suit Up for NFL Browns ... in Commercial on Sunday

On December 20, 2008, new agencies reported that LeBron James was open to the possibility of signing an extension with the Cavaliers after this season. Several teams cut payroll in anticipation of attempting to sign LeBron James when he became a free ageint in the summer of 2010. But when asked about the possibility of re-signing with the Cavaliers, James stated, "You play out this season of course; I will consider it. The direction we are headed is everything I expected and more."http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3784334

While still in high school, James was touted as one of the NBA's future greatest players. He won the Ohio "Mr. Basketball" award three times and was drafted straight out of high school by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in 2003.NBA.com: LeBron James Bio

Since making his debut in the NBA, James has set multiple youngest player records. He also led the Cavaliers to playoff appearances in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Cavaliers reached the 2007 NBA Finals, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.

In addition to basketball, LeBron James has become widely recognized in popular culture. He endorses Nike and LeBron James Shoes. LeBron James has appeared in several Nike commercials titled "The LeBrons," playing different aged versions of himself.YouTube: New Lebron James Commercial - Swimming Pool (Time: 1:00) In 2007, he hosted the ESPY Awards with comedian Jimmy Kimmel. James also hosted the 2007 season premiere of Saturday Night Live, and was the first black man to appear on the cover of Vogue Magazine.USATODAY.com: LeBron James: 3rd 'Vogue' cover boy (March 14, 2008)LeBron James is known for wearing the LeBron James Shoes which he endorses for Nike.

On November 28, 2008, James lashed out at NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Barkley had chastised James earlier in the day on the Dan Patrick radio show, for the way the young star has handled his impending free agency in 2010.

Barkley stated, "If I was LeBron James, I would shut the hell up. I'm a big LeBron fan. He's a stud. You gotta give him his props. I'm getting so annoyed he's talking about what he's going to do in two years. I think it's disrespectful to the game. I think it's disrespectful to the Cavaliers."

James responded to Barkley's quote by stating,"He's stupid. That's all I've got to say about that."http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3731824