LeBron James is known for his various awards and honors, including his 4 NBA Finals MVPs and 4 NBA championships. Sports fans all over are aware of the legend that is LeBron James, better known as ‘King James.’ But how much do you know about LeBron James’ mom?
Although LeBron James is a household name to basketball lovers, where he came from is not so well-known. The story starts with his mother, Gloria Marie James.
Read on to learn all about her.
Early Life of Gloria Marie James
LeBron James’ mom, Gloria Marie James, born February 4th, 1968, is the daughter of Freda James. She and her two brothers, Curt and Terry James, spent the majority of their childhood in Akron, Ohio.
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At the young age of 16, she gave birth to now NBA superstar, LeBron James. It was later found out that Anthony McClelland, a casual partner of Gloria, was the father of LeBron. He left soon after finding out she was pregnant.
Her mother was her greatest support system during this time until she passed away from a sudden heart attack on Christmas when Gloria James was only 19.
LeBron James’ mother was then left to support LeBron on her own along with her two brothers. To keep up with shifting jobs, she had to move homes often. It was reported that she moved around 19 times to make a living.
Because of her pregnancy, she was unable to finish school and could not keep a stable job.
Life as LeBron James’ Mom
Being a young mother to LeBron James was difficult as Gloria could not provide him with the stability he needed as a child. Instead of continuing to move around with him, she made the hardest choice of her life.
She decided to leave young LeBron with his then football coach, Frank Walker, and his family. Walker was the one to introduce LeBron to basketball when he was nine years of age.
Months before LeBron’s scheduled draft into the NBA in 2003, Gloria gifted him a $50,000 Hummer H2. Being such an expensive gift, investigations were carried out to ascertain the funding for the gift.
She had taken out a loan to afford the vehicle and nothing came out of the investigations. Since then, she has had no known investigative scandals.
Although she struggled in her early life, her current net worth is around $2 million because of her superstar son.
Compared to her son’s tallness, Gloria Marie James’ height is 5’5. Gloria Marie James’ age is only 52 because she had her son early in life.
The Career of Gloria Marie James
Because Gloria Marie James never graduated high school, she doesn’t have a lot of qualifications to find a stable job. Yet, because she is the mother of LeBron James, she is well off.
She makes appearances with her son as a socialite to make most of her fortune. As an entrepreneur and philanthropist, Gloria does not shy away from helping those in need.
Most of her life has been spent taking care of her only son and being a proud grandmother of three. LeBron’s three children with his wife Savannah Brinson are LeBron James Jr, Zhuri James, and Bryce Maximums.
Past Relationships
Images of LeBron James’ mom show that she has had a few different relationships over the past years. Gloria and LeBron James’ father met in high school where he was a basketball player.
Anthony McClelland now has an extensive criminal record as he was found guilty of theft among other offenses. LeBron has no interest in meeting his biological father.
After LeBron’s father was out of the picture, there were reports of an engagement to rapper Da Real Lambo in 2013.
There was never any proof that the two got married, but the rapper referred to her as his wife on several occasions. They lived together for some time as seen in a video.
In another video, Da Real Lambo called Gloria his ‘wife’ while threatening LeBron for coming in between them. The two didn’t last very long and ended the relationship when LeBron found out that Lambo was cheating on his mother.
During the 2009-2010 NBA season, it was rumored that Gloria was dating LeBron’s teammate on the Cavaliers at the time, Delonte West. The rumors about Delonte West and LeBron James’ mom were denied by many.
However, former NBA player Calvin Murphy stated that he had an inside source on the team who confirmed the rumors. The relationship between West and Gloria is known as a reason for LeBron’s horrible performance versus the Celtics.
A year after the rumors, Delonte West took a million-dollar one-year deal with the Celtics. Later, he married Caressa Suzzette.
Gloria Marie James’ House
Gloria has settled in her hometown of Akron, Ohio in a two-storied house built in the early 90s. The house is known as Bath Township Mansion and has 12 rooms total including a family den.
LeBron James’ Mom Had a Social Media Presence
Her now lavish lifestyle makes her a popular presence on social media. Along with her amazing mansion, her fans compliment her on her fashion sense.
She has hundreds of thousands of Instagram and Twitter followers for her heartwarming shares and pictures.
On her website, you can find the platforms she cares about most including the LeBron James Family Foundation.
The Interesting Life of LeBron James’ Mom
In her early life, Gloria Marie James struggled to make ends meet but never let that come in the way of being a good mother. The sacrifices she made led to the success of her only son, LeBron James.
Now, her life is more interesting than ever as a mother of a celebrity and NBA champion. Being LeBron James’ mother is the main thing she is known for, but LeBron believes all of his glory was because of her.
For more entertaining facts about NBA stars and their families, check out our NBA blog category.
