LeBron James met his wife, Savannah, during their high school days, and the pair have been together ever since. She's stood by the basketball icon's side from the very beginning of his NBA career all the way through the game where he broke the record for most points scored [1] by a single player in February 2023.
"I just love him so much. We're soulmates," Savannah told Harper's Bazaar in 2010, per Business Insider [2]. James agreed, saying, "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."
In 2017, Savannah detailed the couple's relationship to Cleveland Magazine [3], saying of her husband, "He is truly a king to his queen, if you will." "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," she added. "He's a really, really humble guy for everything that he has and everything that he's done."
As of 2023, it definitely seems like the couple has managed to keep their spark alive through the years. On Feb. 26, Savannah shared a photo of herself wearing a lace jumpsuit underneath a puffy coat for Milan Fashion Week [4] on Instagram [5] — and LeBron quickly jumped into her comments. "OK now you just showing out!!" he wrote, adding eight fire emojis. "Get your ass home now and get what you can't get in Europe!"
And in late May, the couple were side-by-side for the red carpet premiere of the new Peacock biopic about LeBron's high school basketball days called "Shooting Stars." [6] Both Savannah and LeBron's younger selves are featured in "Shooting Stars," a real full-circle moment.
Ahead, relive the sweet major milestones in LeBron and Savannah's decades-long relationship.
2002: LeBron and Savannah James Meet in High School
LeBron and Savannah met in 2002 when they were both students in Akron, Ohio. Savannah was a 16-year-old sophomore at Buchtel High School, while LeBron was a 17-year-old junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary, per The Independent [7].
In 2017, Savannah told Cleveland Magazine [8] that it all started when a friend told her LeBron wanted her number. "I'm like, 'Um, nope. I'll take his number,'" she said. "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.'"
LeBron soon invited her to one of his basketball games, followed by a group dinner at Applebees, People [9] reported. The pair then went on a solo date at Outback Steakhouse.
2004: LeBron and Savannah Welcome Their First Child
LeBron was drafted into the NBA in 2003. A year later, Savannah — who was still in high school — discovered she was pregnant. She told Cleveland Magazine that LeBron supported her through everything. "I was thinking, 'What am I going to tell my parents? What's going to happen to his career?'" she recalled. "I was very scared. I was bawling. But he 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.'"
Their first child [10], LeBron "Bronny" James Jr., was born on Oct. 6, 2004.
2007: LeBron and Savannah Welcome Their Second Child
The pair's second child, Bryce, arrived on June 14, 2007. In 2017, LeBron gave Vogue [11] a window into the family's home life, saying that Savannah is the head of their household. "I'm gone a lot, so she is the boss of the household; she's the rule-setter," he said. "It's hard for me to go on the road for two and half weeks and then come home and tell my kids, 'Look, this is how it should be done,' when she's been home every day."
2011: LeBron Proposes to Savannah
LeBron asked Savannah to marry him on New Year's Eve in 2011, per The Independent [12]. He opened up about his decision to propose in a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey [13]. "I had been thinking about it, you know, for a while, but it just came to me one day, and I was like, 'This is a part of growth for me,'" he said. "And this is the lady, the woman, I've 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."
2013: LeBron and Savannah Get Married
LeBron and Savannah tied the knot on Sept. 14, 2013, at the Capella Chapel at the Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego. Some of their wedding guests included Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Gabrielle Union [14].
2014: LeBron and Savannah Welcome Their Third Child
The pair's third child, Zhuri Nova, was born on Oct. 22, 2014. "My daughter is the greatest thing in my life, along with my boys," LeBron said at the 2021 "Space Jam: A New Legacy" premiere, per Access Hollywood [15].
2023: Savannah and the Kids Celebrate LeBron's Record-Breaking Game
On Feb. 7, 2023, Savannah brought her and LeBron's three kids to the Los Angeles Lakers–Oklahoma City Thunder game where LeBron beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record [16] of 38,387 career points. "I witness day in and day out the hard work, the sacrifice, and the professionalism that you put into this game every single day," Savannah said of her husband in a celebratory video. "You should congratulate yourself, you should celebrate yourself, you deserve all the flowers, you deserve all the respect, and I just want to tell you how proud of you I am."
2023: LeBron and Savannah's Story Featured in New Biopic
The upcoming biopic "Shooting Stars" is inspired by the real-life story of how LeBron and his childhood best friends overcame several obstacles to become the top high school basketball team in the country in the 1990s.
According to Peacock, "From the moment we meet them, we realize this group of friends, under the guidance of Coach Dru Joyce (Wood Harris) is connected by more than basketball." The film follows the boys as they're tested in their journey to become national champions.
LeBron and Savannah met in high school, so the early days of their relationship are expected to be part of the movie. They supported the film at its premiere on May 31.