Strange Things About LeBron James' Marriage

LeBron James Sr. and Savannah James met as students at rival Ohio high schools — LeBron Sr. was a senior and basketball team star, while Savannah was a junior, who played softball and cheered. After a brief courtship, Savannah became pregnant with their eldest son, LeBron James Jr. — popularly known as Bronny James — during her senior year of high school. The timing of their unplanned pregnancy couldn't have come at a worse time, as LeBron Sr. was just starting his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. "I was very scared. I was bawling. But he [LeBron Sr.] said, 'It's not going to slow me down, and it's not going to slow you down. We're going to keep doing what we have to do,'" Savannah recalled to Harper's Bazaar.

And LeBron Sr. was right — his career only accelerated from that point on, and with every move he made, Savannah has been a constant, devoted fixture in his life. She dedicated her time to homemaking and has had a few entrepreneurial pursuits. The James family has since grown, and includes children Bryce James and the couple's daughter, Zhuri Nova James. Still, Savannah and LeBron Sr. have an incredibly untraditional relationship. From their home life catering to the self-proclaimed king, to rumors that he may have a thing for messaging random women, here are the strangest things about LeBron James Sr.'s marriage.

Savannah James first caught LeBron James' eye at a football game during his senior year, and he soon asked if she would attend a basketball game. "I'm like, 'Um, nope. I'll take his number,'" Savannah said, recalling their first encounter to Cleveland Magazine.

While the rest of their city and the sports world were buzzing about the talented young kid who was predicted to dominate the basketball courts one day, LeBron quickly faded from Savannah's mind. "One day I'm sitting around — I was probably bored or something — and I'm like, 'Oh, I forgot! I have this number for this guy that I can call. He seemed interested, so let's see,'" Savannah said.

After attending one of his basketball games, she realized he was kind of a big deal. "I went, and I was like, Wow, this guy is pretty popular in here," she told Harper's Bazaar. After the game, they took a trip to Applebee's with a group of friends, followed by a one-on-one date at an Outback Steakhouse, where she called their conversation "basic."

During her senior year of high school, a flurry of thoughts raced through Savannah James' mind once she realized LeBron James Jr. was in her tummy. "I was thinking, 'What am I going to tell my parents? What's going to happen to his career?'" she told Harper's Bazaar. It was Lebron James Sr. who helped to keep her calm and ease her fears, but the support she received from him didn't stop the people in her hometown from making disgusting remarks about her intentions.

The naysayers were quick to speculate that Savannah had gotten pregnant on purpose to lock down a child with LeBron Sr., who was in his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. "That was clearly not the case," she told the magazine. "I had a good group of friends around me, so I didn't let those things get to me. If I did, I would have been running home crying every day."

The haters weren't without reason for their thinking though. The NBA has even confirmed they teach rookies to retrieve their used condoms so women are unable to impregnate themselves with leftover fluids. So, baby entrapment is a concern for some.

As a student at Akron, Ohio's St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, LeBron James' athletic prowess was a coach's dream. He started out playing football before he finally graced the basketball court with his presence. It wasn't long until NBA scouts had their eyes on him, and he was even featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine when he was still a high school student!

In other words, most bigwigs in the basketball world were able to easily recognize his potential. Savannah James, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "I just thought he'd be a hometown hero for his era and it would be over. He was a normal high school senior," she said in her interview with Harper's Bazaar.

When LeBron was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, fans may have assumed that Savannah, who was right by his side, would have known that he was destined to be an NBA legend. That couldn't be further from the truth, as she shared in an interview with The Cut. "I don't know if I took it that seriously even then," Savannah said. "You know what I'm saying? I really, truly didn't know."

After giving birth to Bronny James, LeBron and Savannah James' son Bryce soon followed. Still, there was one thing missing from their lives: the title of husband and wife. Speaking with Harper's Bazaar in August 2010, Savannah said she hadn't "put a fire under his a**" in terms of demanding they tie the knot because she didn't want to rush him. "We're really comfortable with the way things are now. And it's not up to me. When it happens, it happens," she said.

LeBron finally proposed in January 2012. He later told "Oprah's Next Chapter" that he waited for a special moment — a Miami New Year's Eve party "when all [his] teammates and [his] friends and family" would be present — to pop the question. With his then-teammate Dwyane Wade holding onto the engagement ring for him, LeBron anxiously awaited the right moment. And — get this — he almost backed out at the last second! "I asked [Wade] for [the ring] right after the ball dropped," he said. "He was like, 'You ready?' I was like, 'If you don't give me this ring right now, I ain't gonna do it.'" LeBron and Savannah James eventually tied the knot in a star-studded San Diego wedding in September 2013.

LeBron James essentially lives his life underneath a microscope, and any slip-up is guaranteed to make headlines for days on end. The basketball player found this out the hard way in April 2016 when a woman named Rachel Bush put him on blast by taking a screenshot of a suggestive direct message he allegedly sent to her that read, "Hey what's up?" Although the text seemed harmless, LeBron faced backlash for messaging Bush while he was married.

Surprisingly, that wouldn't be the last time he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Next up was a woman named Heidi Hoback — an Instagram model and avid hunter — who exposed the basketball player for allegedly sliding into her DMs. The alleged message he sent read, "Teach me how to hunt and I'll teach you to play ball. Deal? Lol."

LeBron and Savannah James have never publicly addressed the alleged texts. In her interview with The Cut, Savannah said of her decision to stay mum amid endless cheating rumors, "That is going to put you in a rabbit hole that you don't want to be in."

LeBron and Savannah James are the ultimate dream team. As LeBron puts in the work and brings championships home — he has four rings as of October 2024 and Savannah anchors him behind the scenes. While chatting with Essence magazine about her strategy in becoming an integral part of her husband's success, Savannah said she was "his support system with whatever he needs," and would happily "keep the kids occupied" whenever LeBron needed to have a well-deserved nap. The mother of three added, "The balance that I create in our house is for his success."

While Savannah's contribution is the glue that holds the James family together, LeBron hasn't always acknowledged the value she brings to the table. In a March 2017 interview with the "Road Trippin'" podcast, the four-time MVP said, "It's so funny. I just told my wife the other day, I apologized to her. She was like 'What are you apologizing for?' I said 'Because the journey that I'm on to want to be the greatest to ever play this game or to the point where no one ever forgets what I accomplished, I've at times lost the fact of how important you are to this whole thing.'"

LeBron James isn't running short on cash, especially since he is one of highest-paid athletes in the NBA's 2024 – 2025 season, with a reported salary of $48.7 million. Over the years, LeBron has spared no expense when it comes to spoiling his wife, Savannah James. Savannah, who lives a wildly lavish life, received an engagement ring that reportedly cost anything from $250,000 to $300,000. In a similar fashion, LeBron's ex-teammate, Michael Beasley, revealed that he spent $100,000 to have Savannah recreate a painting.

Not all of LeBron's grand shows of affection are well thought out. For Savannah's 30th birthday, he surprised her by purchasing a pricey Ferrari. "What a night and what makes me happy more than anything is putting a smile on your face! Took me a long time to find your masterpiece but I wouldn't stop until I did and now I can't wait to watch u cruise off into the sunset on the PCH. Happy Bday Queen," the athlete wrote in a Facebook post.

There was just one little problem with his gift. Though Savannah was thrilled with her new set of wheels, she told Essence magazine, "It will be even more awesome when I can drive it. I cannot drive a manual. I'll learn to drive it. By this spring it'll be on and poppin' in my new Ferrari."

When it comes to talking about her husband, Savannah James never minces her words. As evidenced by her declaration that they're soulmates in an interview with Harper's Bazaar, she's always quick to gush about just how much she loves him. It's clear that LeBron James feels the same way about her. During that same interview with Harper's Bazaar, LeBron spoke out about his adoration for his wife. "A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she's that," he said.

Most celebrities use endearing terms when talking about their partners: Justin Bieber called Hailey Bieber "the love of my life" in a July 2018 Instagram post announcing their engagement. Similarly, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, who also first met his wife Ayesha Curry in his teens, simply referred to her as "My Woman" in a July 2023 post celebrating their 12th anniversary. LeBron's reference to Savannah as a "sidekick" therefore has the celebrity love weird-o-meter pinging out of control!

Although LeBron James has a squeaky clean public image, there may be more skeletons in his closet than his fans know. In a September 2022 episode of the "Sofia with an F" podcast, popular internet sensation Sofia Franklyn was addressing allegations of Adam Levine's unfaithfulness to his partner Behati Prinsloo, when she let it be known that he wasn't as cautious in his romantic rendezvous as other celebrities.

"You are famous, Adam! You know how f***ing famous you are. You can be a little sly about it," Franklyn said. She further claimed that actor Leonardo Di Caprio's bodyguards would single out girls and "ask them if they want to go back to his house or wherever, they sign an NDA." Flanklyn continued, " LeBron James, same s**t ... LeBron James has various parties constantly where NDAs need to be signed and women are [naked]."

While Franklyn had no evidence to back up her claims, LeBron is no stranger to wild parties. Amid music mogul P. Diddy's arrest, a video resurfaced of LeBron endorsing the rapper's parties during an Instagram live session. "Everybody know ain't no party like a Diddy party," LeBron said The quote didn't age well, especially since Khloé Kardashian confirmed that she once attended a Diddy party where "half the people were butt-naked."