LeBron James‘ rise to global superstardom was not something even his closest supporters foresaw, including his wife, Savannah, as she tipped him to spend his career as a local hero to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Long before championships, MVP awards, and billions in career earnings, she believed his story would remain firmly fixed in Ohio, as she assumed his basketball trajectory would be modest compared to what it eventually became.
“The tallest date in school…I just thought he’d be a hometown hero for his era and it would be over. He was a normal high school senior,” Savannah said. The reality has been far different.
Now 40 years old, LeBron is recognized as one of the most accomplished and influential athletes in history with various records to his name and four NBA championships in the bag for the legendary player.
And yet throughout his journey, he has consistently credited Savannah and their family as the foundation of his success despite the early doubts of his wife, who he married in 2013.
LeBron and Savannah‘s relationship began when they were teenagers in Akron, Ohio. Their connection endured unplanned challenges, including Savannah‘s pregnancy at age 16, long before the world knew LeBron as “King James.”
And to be fair, her initial view of his career reflected the limited scope of small-town projections as few imagined that the young forward from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School would conquer the NBA.
But despite the extraordinary shift in scale from a local standout to global brand, LeBron‘s commitment to family life has remained constant, and the couple’s enduring partnership has become a cornerstone of his public image
Austin Rivers snubs LeBron for Kevin Durant
While Savannah‘s comments reflect the personal side of LeBron‘s story, recent basketball debates have placed his playing style under scrutiny as the former NBA guard, Austin Rivers, recently claimed he isn’t a better shooter than Kevin Durant.
Rivers explained that Durant fits the mold of a “three-level scorer” more completely than LeBron, whose dominance early in his career relied heavily on athleticism rather than perimeter skill.
Even so, LeBron‘s adaptability has allowed him to remain a top performer well into his 40s and he now holds the outright points record after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 2023.
“LeBron has scored more points than Kevin,” Rivers said on the Off Guard podcast. “But Kevin can score in a much [broader] variety of ways.
“LeBron doesn’t have half the offensive bag that Kevin has.”
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