Early Life

Lebron Raymone James Sr. was born on December 30th, 1984 in Akron, Ohio. He was born to Gloria James, a 16-year old mother who raised him without a stable job or income. Lebron spent much of his childhood moving from place to place while Gloria struggled to find work. Realizing that her son was better off in a stable environment, Gloria moved Lebron to the household of Frank Walker, a local football coach who introduced him to basketball at the young age of 9. As a youth, James plated in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars, which experienced great success at both the local and national level. The team was led by James and his 4 friends, who promised each other to attend the same high school. They chose to attend St. Vincent- St. Mary High School, a Catholic school that was predominately white. When reflecting on his tough childhood, James says “Where I grew up – I grew up on the north side of Akron, lived in the projects. So those scared and lonely nights – that’s every night. You hear a lot of police sirens, you hear a lot of gunfire. Things that you don’t want your kids to hear growing up.”