Tate Etc. is an arts magazine produced within Britain's Tate organisation of arts and museums. Prior to the production of Tate Etc. the Tate produced eight issues in 2002 and 2003 of its forerunner, Tate Magazine, variously called Tate International Arts and Culture and Tate Arts and Culture. Tate Etc. first appeared in the Summer of 2004, and issues have been produced 3 times a year. The masthead of the magazine carries the legend, "Visiting and Revisiting, Art etcetera."

[edit] Issues of Tate Magazine, 2002–2003

• Tate International Arts and Culture, Issue 1, Sept/Oct 2002. Articles: Melanie McGrath on Tracey Emin, William Vaughn on Gainsborough, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Barnett Newman, Robert Ryman, Anselm Kiefer, Anish Kapoor, Anya Gallaccio, Howard Hodgkin.^[1]

• Tate International Arts and Culture, Issue 2, Nov/Dec 2002. Articles: Christian Boltanski, Matthew Barney, The Turner Prize 2002, Darian Leader on Eva Hesse, Video at St Ives, Turner at Tate, Richard Cork on André Fougeron, Thomas Ware on Henry Moore.^[2]

• Tate International Arts and Culture, Issue 3, Jan/Feb 2003. Articles: Constable to Delacroix at Tate Britain, Consuming Passions: 'Shopping' At Tate Liverpool, Leon Golub on Max Beckmann, Michael Landy's Weeds, Man Ray Laid Bare, Eye of the Beholder, Studland Beach.^[3]

• Tate International Arts and Culture, Issue 4, Mar/Apr 2003. Articles: Richard Hamilton's early exhibitions, Tate Triennial survey, sculptor Ronald Moody, Terry Frost at Tate St Ives, COBRA, Zittel in the Mojave Desert, Roberto Matta interview, Bhimji's Out of Blue, Pearly Queen.^[4]

• Tate Arts and Culture, Issue 5, May/Jun 2003. Articles: Studio Visit: Cindy Sherman, Carter Radcliff on Cruel And Tender, The Hole Of Life: Jeanette Winterson on Barbara Hepworth, Surface Tension: Viviane Rehberg on Thomas Ruff, Tate Plays Cupid, Wolfgang Tillmans.^[5]

• Tate Arts and Culture, Issue 6, Jul/Aug 2003. Articles: Peter Gidal on A Century of Artists' Film, Studio: Bridget Riley, Henry Moore and his successors, Simon Grant on Paul Nash, Viola's Five Angels, Paul McCarthy's inflatable monoliths, Jennifer Mundy on Dorothea Tanning.

• Tate Arts and Culture: Seeing Is Believing, Issue 7, Sep/Oct 2003.' Articles: A S Byatt on Sigmar Polke, Olafur Eliasson by Brian Cathcart, Turner & Byron In Venice by Allan Massie, Thomas Hirschhorn Studio Visit, Blinding White: Paul Graham, Buried Treasure: Tate Archive.^[6]

• Tate Arts and Culture, Issue 8, Nov/Dec 2003. Articles: Peter Blake's A-Z polaroids, Paula Rego's illustrations for Jayne Eyre, Tom Morton on Tate Modern's 'Common Wealth' exhibition, Alan Davie: Myth & Gesture, Turner Prize: Justin Westover photographs the shortlisted artists.

[edit] Issues of Tate Etc., 2004–2007

• Tate Etc., Issue 1, Summer 2004. Articles: The Pleasures of Sadness, Earthly Delights, He is poetic, but... Still Swinging after all these Years?, Lives of the Artists, Private View: Sigmar Polke, The Perception of Symmetry, I've got this Strange Feeling, Cultivated Minds, Aesthetics of Alienation...^[7]

• Tate Etc., Issue 2, Autumn 2004. Articles: Architecture and the Sixties, Sound Waves, Robert Frank, "I think if we do beautiful pictures...", What are you looking at?, The precarious museum, Another Time, Another Space, Art Vandal, Private View: The Sun is God, Where There's Life...^[8]

• Tate Etc., Issue 3, Spring 2005. Articles: But is it installation Art?, Anthony Caro, August Strindberg; He is like digging in the Garden Private View: "You can hear the Welding...", The Art of Noise, Salvador Dalí: The first Pop Star of Painting, The Legacy of a Myth Maker, River of Dreams...^[9]

• Tate Etc., Issue 4, Summer 2005. Articles: Bound to Fail, "Thy hand by Nature Guided...", Patron Saint of Lipstick and Lavender Feminism..., "Tune in, Turn on, Light Up"..., Cured by Colour, Mind Fields, "...Lost in Space on a temporarily lucky planet...", The Material World...^[10]

• Tate Etc., Issue 5, Autumn 2005. Articles: The Nude Stripped Bare, The Drink that Fuelled a Nation's Art, "We believe that taste doesn't apply to the honesty of exaggeration"... The Death of the Body, A Celestial Journey, And the Word Was Made Art, The History of Future Technology...^[11]

• Tate Etc., Issue 6, Spring 2006. Articles: Martin Kippenberger, The Art of Documentary, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, the Bauhaus, Josef Albers, the Mona Lisa, Bredekamp and Stafford on Hyperrealism, Patrick McGrath and Louise Welsh on the gothic, MicroTate, Lawrence Norfolk in the Tate archive...^[12]

• Tate Etc., Issue 7, Summer 2006. Articles: Black Moods, Wassily Kandinsky, Oskar Fischinger, The End of Perspective, Mark Rothko, Prisoners of Love, Carl Andre, Private Pleasure for the Public Good, Leonora Carrington, Pierre Huyghe, John Constable, Marcel Duchamp, Howard Hodgkin, Barbara Kruger, James Boswell...^[13]

• Tate Etc., Issue 8, Autumn 2006. Articles: Brian Dillon and Vincent Katz on Erasure, Private View: John Martin, Jan Avgikos, Ryan Gander and Patrick Frey on Fischli/Weiss, Hans Holbein: Messages from a Master, Stepping on Goya’s toes, Will Self, The Real St Ives Story, Deborah Jowitt, Rebecca Smith and Candida Smith on David Smith...^[14]

• Tate Etc., Issue 9, Spring 2007. Articles: Ralph Ubl, Bettina Funcke on Christopher Wool, Wolf Jahn interviews Gilbert & George, Hester Westley on The Locked Room, John Carlin Comic Books, Martin Rowson on William Hogarth, Christy Lange on Mark Wallinger, Mario Vargas Llosa on George Grosz, Keith Miller, Katharina Fritsch, Simon Grant interviews Vija Celmins, TJ Demos...^[15]

• Tate Etc., Issue 10, Summer 2007. Articles: Inner Visions by Söntgen; Out of the Blue by Wozencroft; Excremental Value by Miller; Dalí: Lights, Camera, ...Metamorphosis by Christie; Dalí by Jones, Montes Baquer, Disney, Mekas; A Study in Denim by Daniels; The Master Chameleon by Horn; Warhol by Williams; Hélio Oiticica by Katz, Veloso, Neto, Marepe, Yass; In the Mind’s Eye by Sacks; Dancing the White Darkness by Warner; We Are Here by Campany, Parr, Pavord etc...^[16]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Official website

The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art. It is a network of four art museums: Tate Britain, London (previously known as the Tate Gallery, founded 1897), Tate Liverpool (founded 1988), Tate St Ives, Cornwall (founded 1993) and Tate Modern, London (founded 2000), with a complementary website, Tate Online (created 1998). There are plans to open a TATE in Southampton in 2020. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.^[1]

Tate is used as the operating name for the corporate body which was established by the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 as The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery.

The gallery was founded in 1897, as the National Gallery of British Art. When its role was changed to include the national collection of Modern Art as well as the national collection of British art, in 1932, it was renamed the Tate Gallery after sugar magnate Henry Tate of Tate & Lyle, who had laid the foundations for the collection. The Tate Gallery was housed in the current building occupied by Tate Britain which is situated in Millbank, London. In 2000, the Tate Gallery transformed itself into the current-day Tate, or the Tate Modern, which consists of a federation of four museums: Tate Britain which displays the collection of British art from 1500 to the present day; Tate Modern which is also in London, houses the Tate's collection of British and International Modern and Contemporary Art from 1900 to the present day. Tate Liverpool, in Liverpool has the same purpose as Tate Modern but on a smaller scale, and Tate St Ives displays Modern and Contemporary Art by artists who have connections with the area. All four museums share the Tate Collection. One of the Tate's most publicised art events is the awarding of the annual Turner Prize, which takes place at Tate Britain.

History and development[link]

The original Tate Gallery, now renamed Tate Britain

The original Tate art gallery was called the National Gallery of British Art, situated on Millbank, Pimlico, London at the site of the former Millbank Prison. The idea of a National Gallery of British Art was first proposed in the 1820s by Sir John Leicester, Baron de Tabley. It took a step nearer when Robert Vernon gave his collection to the National Gallery in 1847. A decade later John Sheepshanks gave his collection to the South Kensington Museum (later the Victoria & Albert Museum), known for years as the National Gallery of Art (the same title as the Tate Gallery had). Forty years later Sir Henry Tate who was a sugar magnate and a major collector of Victorian art, offered to fund the building of the gallery to house British Art on the condition that the State pay for the site and revenue costs. Henry Tate also donated his own collection to the gallery. It was initially a collection solely of modern British art, concentrating on the works of modern—that is Victorian era—painters. It was controlled by the National Gallery until 1954.

In 1915, Hugh Lane bequeathed his collection of European Modern Art to Dublin, but controversially this went to the Tate, which expanded its collection to include foreign art and continued to acquire contemporary art. In 1926, and 1937, the art dealer and patron Joseph Duveen paid for two major expansions of the gallery building. His father had earlier paid for an extension to house the major part of the Turner Bequest, which in 1987 was transferred to a wing paid for by Sir Charles Clore. Henry Courtauld also endowed Tate with a purchase fund. By the mid 20th century, it was fulfilling a dual function of showing the history of British art as well as international Modern art. In 1954, the Tate Gallery was finally separated from the National Gallery.

Tate Liverpool opened in 1988

During the 1950s and 1960s, the visual arts department of the Arts Council of Great Britain funded and organised temporary exhibitions at the Tate Gallery including, in 1966, a retrospective of Marcel Duchamp. Later, the Tate began organising its own temporary exhibition programme. In 1979 with funding from a Japanese bank a large modern extension was opened that would also house larger income generating exhibitions. In 1987, the Clore Wing opened to house the major part of the Turner bequest and also provided a 200 seat auditorium. (The "Centenary Development," in 2001, provided improved access and public amenities)

Tate St Ives (on right), opened 1993, overlooks Porthmeor Beach

In 1988, an outpost in the North West England opened as Tate Liverpool. This shows various works of modern art from the Tate collection as well as mounting its own temporary exhibitions. In 2007, Tate Liverpool hosted the Turner Prize, the first time this has been held outside London. This is an overture to Liverpool's being the European Capital of Culture 2008.

In 1993, another offshoot opened, Tate St Ives. It exhibits work by modern British artists, particularly those of the St Ives School. Additionally the Tate also manages the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1980.

Tate Modern opened in 2000

Neither of these two new Tates had a significant effect on the functioning of the original London Tate Gallery, whose size was increasingly proving a constraint as the collection grew. It was a logical step to separate the "British" and "Modern" aspects of the collection, and they are now housed in separate buildings in London. The original gallery is now called Tate Britain and is the national gallery for British art from 1500 to the present day, as well as some modern British art. Tate Modern, in Bankside Power Station on the south side of the Thames, opened in 2000 and now exhibits the national collection of modern art from 1900 to the present day, including some modern British art. In its first year, the Tate Modern was the most popular museum in the world, with 5,250,000 visitors.

Sir Nicholas Serota has been the director of the Tate since 1988, when he took over from Sir Alan Bowness.

Tate Online[link]

Tate Online is the Tate's web site. Since its launch in 1998, the site has provided information on all four physical Tate galleries (Tate Britain, Tate St Ives, Tate Liverpool and Tate Modern) under the same domain. Tate Online helps visitors prepare and extend visits to the physical sites but also acts as a destination in its own right. Other resources include illustrated information on all works in Tate's Collection of British and Modern international art, structured and informal e-learning opportunities for all visitors, over 600 hours of archived webcast events, all articles from the magazine Tate Etc., and a series of bespoke net art commissions. BT was the primary sponsor of Tate Online from 2001 to 2009.

In addition to providing information about the galleries and organisation, Tate Online has been used as a platform for Internet art exhibits, termed Net Art,^[2] which are organised as part of Tate's Intermedia Art initiative^[3] covering new media art. So far, 13 net art exhibitions have been shown since the initiative started in 2000 including Tate in Space (2002) which was nominated in the Interactive Art category for the 2003 BAFTA Interactive awards.

Administration[link]

The Tate receives annual funding from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. It is administered by a board of trustees, who are responsible for the running of the gallery and appoint the Director (for a period of seven years). Under the Charities Act 1993, the Tate is an exempt charity accountable directly to Government rather than the Charity Commission for financial returns etc. However, the Trustees are still expected to follow the broad responsibilities of charity trustees, and may be subject to Charity Commission oversight on these elements of their activities.

Various bodies have been set up to support the Tate including Tate Members for the general public, where a yearly fee gives rights such as free entry to charging exhibitions and members rooms. There is also Tate Patrons for a higher subscription fee and the Tate Foundation. There are a number of corporate sponsors. In addition individual shows are often sponsored.

The Outset Contemporary Art Fund was established in 2003, by Tate patrons Yana Peel and Candida Gertler. In collaboration with the Frieze Art Fair, the fund buys works from the fair for the Tate's collections.

Controversies[link]

• In the 19th century, there was dispute over the acquisitions made with the Chantrey bequest and accusations that favouritism resulted in the purchase of dull work by Royal Academicians
• In 1971, an exhibition by Robert Morris called Bodyspacemotionthings was closed after five days due to health and safety concerns^[4][5]
• In 1972, the Tate Gallery purchased a work by Carl Andre called Equivalent VIII. During a 1976 exhibition of the work, The Times newspaper published an article using the work to complain about institutional waste of taxpayers' money. The article made the piece infamous and it was subjected to ridicule in the media and vandalism. The work is still popularly known as "The Bricks," and has entered the British public lexicon
• Each year, the Turner Prize is held at a Tate Gallery (historically at Tate Britain) and is awarded to an artist under 50 who is either British or primarily working in Great Britain. It is the subject of great controversy and creates much media attention for contemporary British art, as well as attracting demonstrations
• In 1995, it was revealed that the Tate had accepted a gift of £20,000 from art fraudster John Drewe. The gallery had given Drewe access to its archives which he then used to forge documents authenticating fake modern paintings that he then sold
• In 1998, Sir Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, conceived 'Operation Cobalt', the secret and ultimately successful buyback of two of the Tate's paintings by JMW Turner that had been stolen from a German gallery in 1994. See Frankfurt art theft (1994)
• Charles Saatchi stated that an offer of a major gift of works was rejected by Serota. Serota responded that no such offer had been made
• In 2005, the Stuckists offered a donation of 175 paintings which had been exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery. This was rejected and the Tate was accused of "snubbing one of Britain’s foremost collections"^[6]
• In 2005, there was a scandal over the Tate's purchase of its trustee Chris Ofili's work The Upper Room for £705,000, and accusations of conflict of interest^[7] In July 2006, the Charity Commission completed an investigation into this and censured the gallery for acting outside its legal powers^[8]
• In 2006, a legal opinion was given that the Tate and National Gallery have no legal right to ownership of the Turner Bequest, as Turner's conditions for that had never been fulfilled and are still binding^[9]
• In 2006, it was revealed that the Tate was the only national-funded museum not to be accredited to the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), as it did not wish to abide by guidelines that deaccessioned work should first be offered to other museums. The MLA threatened to bar the Tate from acquiring works under the Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme, whereby works are given to the nation to settle inheritance tax. A total of 1,800 museums are accredited with the MLA^[10]
• Tate has been criticised for its partnership with BP. Environmental campaigners Art Not Oil have called for a protest against the petrol company's sponsorship of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.^[11]

Logo and brand[link]

The Tate logo was designed by international brand consultancy Wolff Olins in 2000 as part of a larger rebranding effort focused around the idea "look again, think again." The museum uses a range of logos that move in and out of focus, "suggesting the dynamic nature of Tate - always changing but always recognizable"^[12] Variations include a standard logo, a blurred version, a faded version and a halftone version consisting of dots rather than smooth fading.^[13]

See also[link]

• Tate Etc.
• Turner Prize
• Tate Publishing Ltd, a publisher of art books associated with the Tate Gallery

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tate Online 65,000 works from the Tate Collection online, information on Tate's exhibitions and events programmes, and online learning resources
• TATE ETC. Magazine
• Tate online shop Classic, modern and contemporary design products for adults and children, including items produced exclusively by Tate and items represented in its collection.
• Turner Worldwide - an ongoing online cataloguing of JMW Turner's work around the world
• Turner Collection Online The online catalogue of Tate's collection of nearly 300 oil paintings and 30,000 works on paper by JMW Turner
• Tate Gallery Records Tate's own historical records
• Tate Podcasts Audio and video podcasts from Tate
• Tate in Space
• Turner Museum
• Tate Channel Filmed artist talks and interviews, studio visits, and exhibitions

Media related to Tate at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Museums and galleries in London National museums and galleries British Library British Museum Imperial War Museum Churchill War Rooms HMS Belfast National Army Museum National Gallery National Maritime Museum Queen's House Royal Observatory Natural History Museum National Portrait Gallery Science Museum Tate Tate Britain Tate Modern Victoria and Albert Museum Museum of Childhood Designated collections Courtauld Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery Firepower – The Royal Artillery Museum Horniman Museum and Gardens Hunterian Museum Jewish Museum Kensington Palace (Dress collection) Library and Museum of Freemasonry London Transport Museum Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture Museum of London Museum of London Docklands Petrie Museum Sir John Soane's Museum English Heritage Apsley House Chiswick House Down House Eltham Palace Jewel Tower Kenwood House (Iveagh Bequest) London Wall Marble Hill House Ranger's House (Wernher Collection) Winchester Palace National Trust 2 Willow Road Blewcoat School Carlyle's House Eastbury Manor House Fenton House George Inn Lindsey House (restricted) Morden Hall Park Osterley Park Rainham Hall Red House Roman Baths Sutton House Other museums and galleries Barbican Art Gallery Bruce Castle Design Museum Estorick Collection Foundling Museum Freud Museum Garden Museum Geffrye Museum Guildhall Art Gallery Handel House Museum The Hayward Hogarth's House Institute of Contemporary Arts Leighton House Museum Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising Old Operating Theatre Queen's Gallery Royal Collection Royal Academy of Arts Royal Academy of Music Museum Saatchi Gallery Serpentine Gallery Sherlock Holmes Museum Wallace Collection Wellcome Collection Whitechapel Gallery William Morris Gallery Category Commons

v t e Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom Headquarters: 2–4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5DH Executive agencies Royal Parks Agency Non-departmental public bodies Advisory Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection Advisory Council on Libraries English Marketing Advisory Board Legal Deposit Advisory Panel Public Lending Right Advisory Committee Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest Spoliation Advisory Panel Theatres Trust Treasure Valuation Committee Executive Arts Council of England Big Lottery Fund British Film Institute British Library British Museum Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment English Sports Council Football Licensing Authority Gambling Commission Geffrye Museum English Heritage Historic Royal Palaces Horniman Museum Horserace Betting Levy Board Imperial War Museum Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester Museums, Libraries and Archives Council National Gallery National Heritage Memorial Fund National Lottery Commission National Maritime Museum National Museums Liverpool National Museum of Science and Industry National Portrait Gallery Natural History Museum Olympic Delivery Authority Olympic Lottery Distributor Registrar of Public Lending Right Royal Armouries Museum Sir John Soane's Museum Sport England Tate UK Film Council UK Sport Victoria and Albert Museum VisitBritain Wallace Collection Tribunal Horserace Betting Levy Tribunal Public broadcasting authorities British Broadcasting Corporation Sianel Pedwar Cymru (S4C) (Welsh Fourth Channel Authority) Statutory corporations Channel Four Television Corporation Historic Royal Palaces Office of Communications (Ofcom) Ministers Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt Under-Secretaries of State Culture, Communications and Creative Industries: Ed Vaizey Sport and the Olympics: Hugh Robertson Tourism and Heritage: John Penrose Category

Coordinates: 51°29′28″N 0°07′37″W / 51.491°N 0.127°W / 51.491; -0.127

Look up etc in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The abbreviation etc or ETC may stand for:

• et cetera, a Latin expression meaning "and other things" or "and so on"

Economics and finance[link]

• European Trade Center, a development company
• Electronic Trade Confirmation, a type of financial transaction
• Equipment trust certificate, a financial security
• Electronic Teller Card, a type of ATM card service by HSBC and Hang Seng Bank in Hong Kong and Macau
• Exchange-traded commodity, exchange-traded currency or exchange-traded certificate

Media and entertainment[link]

• Electronic Theatre Controls, a company that makes lighting, controls, and other electrical systems for theatres
• ETC (magazine), a leftist Swedish magazine
• Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, the sole telecommunication service provider in Ethiopia
• The European Team Championship
• Experimental Theatre Club, a student dramatic society at University of Oxford, England. It was founded in 1936 by Nevill Coghill as an alternative company to the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), and produces several productions a year
• ETC Entertainment Central, a TV station in the Philippines
• Etcetera (cat), a fictional character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats
• Et Cetera, a manga comic created by Tow Nakazaki
• Etc (band), a rock band and solo performer currently based in Singapore
• Electrical Till Corporation, a fictionalized IBM in Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon
• Eric Theodore Cartman, a character on South Park
• Et Cetera (song), Ireland's Eurovision 2009 entry performed by Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy
• Earl Thomas Conley (born 1941), American country music singer and composer
• Etc. (album), the b-sides and rarities album of the influential punk band Jawbreaker
• Etc., a bonus disc accompanying the Pet Shop Boys' 2009 release Yes.

Science and technology[link]

• /etc, a computer directory found in Unix
• Eastern tent caterpillar, a species of caterpillar
• Electron transport chain, a process in mitochondria responsible for creating a proton gradient that allows ATP-formation
• Electronic throttle control, an automobile technology
• Electronic toll collection, a system for management of roadway access fees
• Electrothermal-chemical technology, a military research project involving tank projectiles
• Encyclopedia of Triangle Centers, an on-line database of information related to the geometry of triangles
• Ericsson Texture Compression, a texture compression algorithm
• ETC Group, a global organization concerned with diversity (cultural and ecological) and human rights
• Extended Text Composer (etc), an IBM mainframe based software text formatting utility originally published by Applied Data Research
• Extratropical cyclone, large weather systems that usually occur in the middle latitudes

Other:

• Cadillac Eldorado, a large luxury coupe made by Cadillac from 1953 to 2002. In its later years it used the name ETC
• Chief Electronics Technician, a senior enlisted rating in the US Navy and Coast Guard
• European Travel Commission, an organisation responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination
• EVE Time Code, one method of extending play time in the MMORPG Eve Online

See also[link]

• Etsy, an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

LeBron James

James with the Heat
No. 6 – Miami Heat
Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1984-12-30) December 30, 1984 (age 27) Akron, Ohio, United States
Nationality	American
High school	St. Vincent – St. Mary High School
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Pro career	2003–present
Career history
2003–2010	Cleveland Cavaliers
2010–present	Miami Heat
Career highlights and awards
3× NBA Most Valuable Player (2009–2010, 2012) NBA Rookie of the Year (2004) 8× NBA All-Star (2005–2012) NBA scoring champion (2008) 6× All-NBA First Team (2006, 2008–2012) 2× All-NBA Second Team (2005, 2007) 4× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2009–2012) NBA All-Rookie First Team (2004) 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, 2008) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003)
Stats at NBA.com
Medals Men's Basketball Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Team competition Bronze 2004 Athens Team competition FIBA World Championship Bronze 2006 Japan Team competition FIBA Americas Championship Gold 2007 Las Vegas Team competition

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. He was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2009, 2010, and 2012^[1] and has been both an All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James signing with the Miami Heat.

James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2011, James and the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.

High school career[link]

James attended St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, where he starred as a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and football. A distinguished wide receiver, James was named first-team all-state in his sophomore year and led the Fighting Irish to the state semifinals in his junior year.^[2] His football career came to an end before his senior year when he broke his wrist during an AAU basketball game.^[3] Many sports analysts, football critics, and former and current players have speculated on whether he could have played in the NFL.^[4]

James was a starter for St. Vincent-St. Mary's varsity basketball team from day one. During his freshman year, he averaged 21 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, eventually leading the Irish to the OHSAA Division III state title. The next year, he upped his averages to 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, while also contributing 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game.^[2] The Irish finished the season 26-1 and repeated as state champions. For his outstanding play, James was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball and was selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team, becoming the first ever sophomore to do either.^[5]

James' junior year saw his popularity explode onto a national level. Prior to the start of the season, he appeared in SLAM Magazine and was lauded as possibly "the best high school basketball player in America right now" by writer Ryan Jones.^[6] With averages of 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.3 steals per game, he was again named Ohio's Mr. Basketball and selected to the All-USA First Team. Additionally, he was named the 2001-2002 boys' basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year. Unfortunately, St. Vincent-St. Mary did not defend its state championship from the year before, losing to Roger Bacon High School in the OHSAA Division II championship game. Following the loss, James seriously considered declaring for the 2002 NBA Draft, petitioning for an adjustment to the NBA's draft eligibility rules which required prospective players to have at least graduated from high school.^[7] Although the petition was unsuccessful, it only further raised his exposure.

By the time James' senior year began, he had already appeared on the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated. His unprecedented level of fame forced St. Vincent-St. Mary to move their practices to James A. Rhodes Arena at the University of Akron.^[8] The Irish's regular season games were frequently attended by celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, with some being televised nationally on ESPN2 and regionally on pay-per-view.^[9] For the season, James averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals per game.^[5] He was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball and selected to the All-USA First Team for an unprecedented third consecutive year. He participated in three three year-end high school basketball all-star games - the EA Sports Roundball Classic, the Jordan Capital Classic, and the McDonald's All-American Game -, losing his NCAA eligibility and making it official he would enter the 2003 NBA Draft.^[10] James finished his high school basketball career with 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists.^[5] On January 31, 2012, he was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.^[11]

Despite his accomplishments, James' senior year was a tumultuous one. For his 18th birthday, he accepted a Hummer H2 from his mother, Gloria, who secured a loan for the vehicle utilizing LeBron's future earning power.^[12] This prompted an investigation by the OHSAA because under their guidelines, no amateur may accept any gift valued over $100 as a reward for athletic performance.^[13] Later in the season, James accepted two throwback jerseys worth $845 from an urban clothing store in exchange for his posing for pictures, officially violating OHSAA violations and resulting in him being stripped of his high school sports eligibility.^[13] James appealed the ruling and his penalty was eventually dropped to a two game suspension, allowing him to play the remainder of the season. The Irish were also forced to forfeit one of their wins, their only official loss that season.^[14]

NBA career[link]

Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010)[link]

Rookie season[link]

James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the number one overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. In his first professional game he recorded 25 points, setting an NBA record for most points scored by a prep-to-pro player in his debut outing.^[15] He also added 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals with a 60% field goal percentage.^[16] Originally, he was scheduled to compete in the 2004 Slam Dunk Contest but was forced to withdraw because of an ankle injury.^[17] In a late season match-up with the New Jersey Nets, he scored a season-high 41 points, becoming the youngest player in league history to score at least 40 points in a game.^[18] James was eventually named the 2003–04 NBA Rookie of the Year, finishing with averages of 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game.^[19] He also became the first Cavalier to receive the honor and joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season (Tyreke Evans has since joined this group). Despite James' award-worthy play and an 18-game improvement over the previous season, the Cavaliers failed to make the the playoffs.^[20]

2004–05 season[link]

In the 2004–05 season, James was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game and recorded 13 points, 6 assists, and 8 rebounds, as the Eastern All-Stars defeated the Western All-Stars 125–115.^[21] During the season, James became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double and make the All-NBA Team.^[2] He averaged 27.2 points, 7.2 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game.^[19] The Cavaliers failed to reach the playoffs again and finished with a 42–40 regular season record.^[22]

2005–06 season[link]

In the 2005–06 season, James was elected to his second straight All-Star Game appearance and led the Eastern All-Stars to a 122–120 victory, with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. He became the youngest All-Star MVP at 21 years, 51 days.^[23] He was named NBA Player of the Week for an unprecedented three consecutive weeks and concluded the season with five honors.^[24] He scored 35 or more points in nine consecutive games, joining Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players since 1970 to accomplish the feat.^[24] For the season, James averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game,^[19] and became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 30 points. He became the fourth player in NBA history to average more than 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a single season.^[25] The Cavaliers made the playoffs for the first time since 1998,^[26] and improved from a record of 17–65 in 2002–03 to 50–32 in 2005–06.^[27]

Following the regular season, James was named as one of the candidates for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Although he finished second to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in MVP voting, he was awarded co-MVP honors with Nash by The Sporting News; an award given by the publication that is based on the voting of thirty NBA general managers.^[28]

James made his playoff debut against the Washington Wizards in 2006. He recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards 97–86.^[29] He joined Johnny McCarthy and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to register a triple-double in their playoff debut.^[29] For the series, James averaged 35.7 points, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards in six games.^[30] In the process, James set a new record for turnovers in a 6-game series, with 34. In the second round of the playoffs, James and the Cavaliers lost in seven games to the defending Eastern Conference champion and divisional rival Detroit Pistons. James averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the playoffs.^[19]

At the end of the season, James negotiated a three-year contract extension, with a player option for a fourth year. The contract was worth $60 million and began at the start of the 2007–08 season.^[31] Although it was for fewer years and less money than the maximum he could sign, it allowed him the option of seeking a new contract worth more money as an unrestricted free agent following the 2010 season.^[31] He had discussed this with fellow members of his 2003 draft class, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who also re-signed with their respective teams while allowing them to be unrestricted agents in 2010.^[32]

2006–07 season[link]

James in April 2007

James was elected to his third consecutive All-Star game appearance during the 2006–07 season. He played a game high 32 minutes and finished with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.^[33] In the regular season, the Cavaliers tied the previous season's record with 50 wins and clinched the second seed of the Eastern Conference on the last day of the season.^[34] For the season, James averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.^[2] He joined Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game for three consecutive years.^[35]

In the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to their first sweep in franchise history over the Washington Wizards in four games.^[36] It was the first time the franchise had won consecutive road playoff games.^[36] For the series, James averaged 27.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 8.5 rebounds.^[19] In the second round of the playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to a 4–2 series victory over the New Jersey Nets.^[37] He averaged 25.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.6 assists in the series,^[19] as the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 15 years.^[37]

In the Eastern Conference Finals, James led the Cavaliers from an 0–2 deficit against the Detroit Pistons to win the series in six games. His performance in Game 5 was especially memorable. James recorded a franchise-record 48 points on 54.5% field goal shooting, to go with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, James scored 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the team's final 25 points in a double-overtime victory. He concluded the night with a game-winning lay-up with 2 seconds left.^[38] NBA analyst Marv Albert referred to James' performance as "one of the greatest moments in postseason history," while color commentator Steve Kerr called it "Jordan-esque."^[39]

In the 2007 NBA Finals, James averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists, as the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, losing 4 consecutive games.^[2] For the postseason, James averaged 25.1 points, 8.0 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game.^[19] He set a franchise record for double-doubles in a playoff season with eight and became the first Cavalier and the first non-guard in NBA history to have at least seven assists in eight consecutive playoff games.^[2]

2007–08 season[link]

James drives to the basket in a game in April 2008.

In the 2007–08 season, James continued his dominant play, earning his fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance^[40] and once again positioning himself as one of the front runners for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He won the 2008 All-Star Game MVP with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated their Western counterparts, 134–128.^[41]

On February 19, 2008, James recorded his fifth triple-double of the 2007–08 season by putting up 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Houston Rockets. It was the fifteenth triple-double of his career. He is the third youngest player to post 15 triple-doubles, behind Robertson and Johnson.^[42] He scored his sixth triple-double of the season and sixteenth of his career against the Indiana Pacers the very next game. It was the second time during the season that he had a triple-double in back-to-back games. The last player to accomplish that feat was Johnson in 1988.^[43] James finished the season with seven triple-doubles, breaking his personal and team records for triple-doubles in a season and 17 career triple-doubles broke his team record as well.^[44]

James taking part in his pre-game ritual of tossing crushed chalk in the air.

On February 27, 2008, against the Boston Celtics, James became the youngest person to score 10,000 points in his career at 23 years and 59 days, achieving the feat in style with a slam-dunk over 11-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, eclipsing the old mark by more than a year. James did so in 368 games, the ninth fastest in league history.^[45][46] On March 5, 2008, James scored 50 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists on the New York Knicks, becoming only the third player since the ABA-NBA merger to record a 50-point 10-assist game.^[47] On March 21, 2008, James scored 29 points against the Toronto Raptors, taking him past Brad Daugherty's all-time Cavaliers scoring record of 10,389 points. Daugherty achieved this record over the course of 548 games, while James took only 380 games to score 10,414 points.^[48]

All told, James propelled Cleveland to a 45–37 record, good for second place in the Central Division and the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Prior to Cleveland's first-round series versus the Washington Wizards, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson said James was "overrated," prompting James to say that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy."^[49] In response, Soulja Boy himself made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards, and his music was played over the PA system.^[50] James would later say that he meant no disrespect to Soulja Boy with his comment, and that his young son is a big fan of the rapper. Jay-Z responded by producing a freestyle version of the Too Short single "Blow the Whistle", named "Playoff", in which he "disses" Stevenson and Soulja Boy on James' behalf.^[51][52] The Cavaliers won the series against the Wizards in 6 games (4–2). The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the next round (4–3). During the decisive seventh game, which was played in Boston, James scored 45 points, but opponent Paul Pierce's 41 led the Celtics to a narrow victory.

2008–09 season[link]

In the 2008–09 season James continued to improve facets of his game while setting new career highs. He had 23 chase-down blocks (93 blocks in total, a career-high) and improved his free-throw shooting (78.0%, a career-high, with league-leading 594 free-throws made).^[53][54] He was the NBA Player of the Month four times, making him the second player in NBA history to do that after Kevin Garnett did so in his 2003–04 MVP season.^[55] In addition, he became the fourth player in NBA history to lead his team in all five major statistical categories (total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) in one season.^[56]

James defending Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics in October 2008

After a win on March 25 against the New Jersey Nets the Cleveland Cavaliers improved their record to 58–13 exceeding their previous franchise best of 57–25 set in the 1988–89 and 1991–92 NBA seasons. They ended the regular season with a league best of 66–16 after losing their final home game to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. The Cavaliers had a chance to tie the 1985–86 Boston Celtics for the all-time best NBA home record but ended at 39–2 after home losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and 76ers.

James dribbles the ball in a game in April 2009.

In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. James averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the series and became just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a postseason series. At the end of the last game, in which he tallied 36 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists on 16–17 free throw shooting, there were MVP chants for him in The Palace of Auburn Hills.^[57] On May 4, he was announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player. He became the first Cavaliers player in history to win the award.^[58][59][60]

He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career.^[61]

In the next series in the playoffs, James once again led his team to a sweep against the Atlanta Hawks.^[62]

On May 22, during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu shot a 12-foot jumper to give the Magic a 2-point lead with 1 second left. Following a Cleveland timeout, Williams inbounded the ball to James, but heavy defense by Türkoğlu denied James a chance at a tying layup. James then attempted and made a three-point shot over Türkoğlu, giving the Cavs a 96–95 victory to tie the series 1–1.^[63] Following a Game 3 road loss, James attempted another game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 4, but from farther out; it missed, thus dropping the Cavaliers 1–3 in the series.^[64] After a Game 5 home win, he scored a playoff low 25 points in Game 6 and Cleveland lost the series to Orlando. James' postgame behavior incited some controversy when he left the game floor without shaking hands with his opponents.^[65] James later told reporters:

"It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them, I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. ... I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."^[66]

2009–10 season[link]

James taking a free throw against the Atlanta Hawks.

Before the 2009–10 season, Cleveland traded for four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal to address an inside presence that was missing against Orlando.^[67] O'Neal's goal was to "Win a Ring for the King."^[68] James was selected to his sixth consecutive All-Star game appearance.^[69] He became the first player to earn at least 2.5 million votes three times.^[69] James recorded 25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated the Western Conference All-Stars 141–139.^[70] In a 118–116 loss to the Denver Nuggets, James tallied 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks in a game.^[71] He was the first player to have at least 40 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in a game since Robertson did so on February 13, 1962.^[71] All-Star Antawn Jamison was acquired by the Cavs on February 17, 2010.^[72] On March 13, 2010, James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 15,000 regular season points during a 92–85 win over the Chicago Bulls.^[73]

At the end of the regular season, Cleveland finished with the best regular season record for the second consecutive year.^[74] James won the Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career, becoming the twelfth NBA player in history to do so.^[75] James received 116 of a possible 122 first-place votes to win.^[75]

In the playoffs, the Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round, but fell to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.^[76] James was criticized for not playing well, especially in Game 5 of the series, in which he shot only 3 for 14 and scored 15 points.^[77] He walked off the court in that game, his final home game as a Cavalier, "to a smattering of boos and rows of empty seats" and Cleveland lost 88–120 in their worst home playoff loss in team history.^[78] Cleveland was eliminated in Game 6, James' last playing for Cleveland, as he recorded 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, but also 9 turnovers.^[76]

2010 free agency[link]

James, in his No. 6 Heat jersey, attempts to dunk the basketball.

James became a free-agent at 12:01 am ET on July 1, 2010.^[79] He filed papers to formally change his jersey number 23 to 6 for the season.^[80] James was courted by several teams, including the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Clippers, and his hometown Cavaliers.^[81]

On July 8, 2010, James announced on a live ESPN special, The Decision, that he would be playing for the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season and teaming with Miami's other All-Star free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.^[82] The Decision was broadcast from the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut.

In this fall...this is very tough...in this fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. I feel like it's going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there.^[83][84]

—LeBron James

Wade had informed Heat President Pat Riley that James wanted to become less of a scorer and more of a distributor, and James looked forward to no longer carrying the offense night after night as he did playing with Cleveland.^[85] Riley sold to James that "LeBron would be Magic Johnson, Dwyane Wade would be Kobe Bryant, Chris would be Kevin Garnett." Relieved of the burden of scoring, James thought he could be the first player to average a triple-double in a season since Oscar Robertson.^[85][86]

The Cavaliers were informed of James' decision minutes before the show began.^[87] The television program drew high ratings as well as criticism for the prolonged wait until James' actual decision and the spectacle of the show itself.^[88]

In Cleveland, fans considered James' departure a betrayal that ranks second to Art Modell's efforts to relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.^[89] Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert almost immediately published an open letter to fans, denouncing James' decision as a "selfish", "heartless", "callous", and "cowardly betrayal", while guaranteeing that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the "self-declared former King."^[90] Gilbert's sports-memorabilia company Fathead also lowered the price of wall graphics depicting James from $99.99 to $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold.^[91] William Rhoden of The New York Times defended James by stating that Gilbert's "venomous, face-saving personal attack", along with the ensuing "wrath of jersey-burning fans", only validated James’ decision to leave Cleveland.^[92] Reverend Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, said Gilbert's feelings "personify a slave master mentality", and he was treating James as "a runaway slave".^[93] J. A. Adande of ESPN said, however, that James chose to promote the drama of his decision in an hour-long television special instead of showing "common courtesy" to notify Cleveland and other teams of his plans.^[94] On July 12, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter's contents, while also criticizing the way James handled free agency.^[95] On July 14, James told J. R. Moehringer for a GQ article that there was "nothing at all" he would change about his handling of free agency.^[96]

Former NBA players criticized his decision to not stay with Cleveland and continuing to try to win a championship as "the guy".^[97] Michael Jordan stated that he would not have contacted his rivals from other teams like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to play on one team together, as "I wanted to defeat those guys." Jordan added that "...things are different [now]. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today."^[98] Johnson echoed Jordan's sentiments on teaming with rivals.^[99]

On September 29, 2010, asked by Soledad O'Brien of CNN if race was a factor in the fallout from The Decision, James said, "I think so, at times. There's always – you know, a race factor."^[100] James had previously stayed clear of racial issues.^[101][102] When the earlier controversy over his cover on Vogue became a national debate, James had no comment.^[102] Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, said James suddenly bringing up race in this instance was "laughable."^[102] Jason Whitlock of Foxsports.com said James' usage of the race card was "an excuse to avoid dealing with his own bad (The) Decision."^[103] Adande, however, said James "didn't claim to be a victim of racial persecution" and "caused us to examine the bias that's always lurking".^[101]

Before a game against the Nets on October 31, his first game against one of his suitors, James reflected on his free agency: “If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different,” James said. “But I’m happy with my decision.” He declined to be more specific.^[104]

Miami Heat (2010–present)[link]

LeBron James during the 2010–11 regular season.

On July 9, James officially completed a sign-and-trade six-year contract with the Miami Heat, which would have allowed for an NBA max deal.^[105] However, in order to afford Bosh, Wade, and James, the deal was for less than the NBA maximum contract.^[106] On the same day, the Heat threw a welcome party and introduced James, Wade and Bosh to the 13,000 Heat fans at American Airlines Arena. The rock concert atmosphere featured the trio arriving to plumes of smoke with Bosh and Wade pointing to the crowd and James strutting around.^[107] Howard Beck of The New York Times described the national fan reaction to the party: "Everyone saw something: greatness, arrogance, self-indulgence, boldness, cowardice, pride, friendship, collusion, joy, cynicism, heroes, mercenaries."^[108] James became the third reigning NBA MVP to change teams and the first since Moses Malone in 1982.^[109]

On November 2, James had a game-high 12 assists in a 129–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.^[110] James was the primary ball handler for nearly the entire 33 minutes he played against the Wolves.^[111] He has been playing throughout the season the point guard role that Riley sold to him during free agency.^{[111][112][113]} "I don't want to be called a point guard, but I can't stop it," said James. Heat public relations announced that James's 12 assists was the highest in franchise history by a forward.^[111] On November 9 in a 116–114 loss to the Utah Jazz, James finished with 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, his first triple-double with the Heat.^[114] It was his 29th career triple-double, the seventh that came in a loss.^[115] On December 2, the Heat played in Cleveland in James' first game back since departing as a free agent. The crowd directed derisive chants and signs at James, who was booed every time he touched the ball. With tight security, the crowd was rowdy but not violent and there was only one arrest and four ejections. James scored a then-season-high 38 points and Miami won in a 118–90 blowout as the hostile crowd was quieted before halftime.^[116][117] In a well publicized arrival after spurning the franchise, James had his second triple double of the season with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a blowout victory.^[118] In the Heat's 104–100 victory over the Orlando Magic on February 3, 2011, James scored 23 points in the first quarter, breaking Alonzo Mourning's single-game franchise record of 21 first-quarter points (March 29, 1996).^[119] James finished the game with 51 points, a season high, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.^[120] On March 29, in James' second game at Cleveland as a member of the Heat, he skipped his pregame player introduction, saying that he was using the bathroom, and entered the arena during the Cleveland Cavaliers player introductions. The Heat lost to the Cavaliers 102–90 despite James' 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.^[121]

James finished second in the league in scoring with 26.7 points per game and Dwyane Wade finished fourth (25.5 points per game). They combined to score 4,052 points this season, most by a duo in franchise history.^[122] In the 2011 NBA Finals James finished with averages of 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 7.1 rebounds, although the Miami Heat were beaten in 6 games by the Dallas Mavericks, 4–2. Throughout the postseason James averaged 23.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds. James's 17.8 points per game (down 8.9 points from 26.7) in the Finals was the largest drop off in points from a regular season to an NBA Finals in NBA history.^[123]

On February 2, James was selected to start in his eighth All-Star game. The West defeated the East 152–149, but not before James tied with Kevin Durant for a game-high 36 points, including tying Mark Price's 19-year All-Star game record of six 3-point field goals.^[124]

On May 20, 2012, James recorded 40 points, 18 rebounds, and 9 assists in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Indiana Pacers, becoming only the second player to ever do so in NBA history (besides Elgin Baylor in 1961).^[125]

International career[link]

James goes up for a shot against China's Yao Ming in the Group B men's Olympic basketball game between the U.S. and China on August 10, 2008, at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

After his rookie season, James played on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team in Athens, where the US men's team won the bronze medal. It was the first time a U.S. Olympic team with NBA players failed to win the gold medal. Limited to 14.6 minutes per game, James averaged just 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.^[126]

Along with Kobe Bryant, he was one of the first two players to be publicly named to the 2006–2008 U.S. preliminary roster in 2006 by Jerry Colangelo.^[127] James competed in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.^[128] The team finished with an 8–1 record, and was again awarded the bronze medal.^[128] James was named as one of three captains for the 2006 USA Men's World Championship team, alongside Carmelo Anthony and Wade.^[129]

After failing to win the 2006 World Championships, the team competed at the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the gold medal game against Argentina, James recorded 31 points, the most by an American in an Olympic qualifier, as the United States captured gold medal honors.^[130] He averaged 18.1 points (on tournament-high field-goal percentage (76%) and three-point percentage (62.2%), 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.

James, along with the rest of Team USA reclaimed the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeating Spain 118 to 107. He finished the gold medal game with 14 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the U.S. went unbeaten, winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.^[131] It was later reported that James' "immaturity and downright disrespectfulness" were a risk to his being included on the Beijing Olympic team as Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo believed that Bryant joining the national team would allow the team to win the gold medal with or without James.^[87]

Player profile[link]

As of the 2011–12 season, James has averaged 27.6 points, 6.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game for his career in the regular season.^[19] In the 2005–06 season, he led the league in completed traditional three point plays.^[2] He regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for the small forward position.^[132][133] James' skills have led to many comparisons to NBA legends Robertson, Johnson, and Jordan.^[134] James was not named to the NBA All-Defensive Team until the 2008–09 season, when he finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.

In March 2011, the New York Times wrote that James "has not mastered a reliable midrange jumper ... has not developed a go-to move in the post" and his options in a half-court set at the end of games "often are a long jump shot or a mad dash to the rim."^[135] In January 2012, Miami teammate Bosh opined that Wade—based off Wade's past success—should take the last-second shot instead of Bosh or James to win or lose a game.^[136] James was criticized by the media for passing instead of taking the last-second shot in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game and in a couple of subsequent games.^[137][138]

James started a petition saying that no one should be allowed to wear the No. 23 in the NBA to honor Jordan.^[139] On March 1, 2010, James filed an application to the NBA to wear the No. 6 starting the 2010–11 season.^[140]

Off the court[link]

Personal life[link]

James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio, to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria. His biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-convict who left Gloria, leaving her to raise LeBron by herself.^[141][142]

James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004,^[143] and the second, Bryce Maximus James, on June 14, 2007.^[143][144] They currently reside in Coconut Grove, a Miami suburb, where James bought a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay for $9 million on November 12, 2010.^[145] James became engaged to Brinson on December 31, 2011. He proposed to her at a party to celebrate New Year’s Eve and his 27th birthday.^[146]

Endorsements[link]

James is a minority stakeholder of Liverpool F.C.

James has endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, Upper Deck, McDonald's and State Farm.^[147][148] With Nike, James has released nine signature shoe styles, and six additional shoes (20–5–5, Soldier, Soldier 2, Soldier 3, Soldier 4, Ambassador). He has acted in a 2007 series of commercials called "The LeBrons", as well as had his likeness voiced by Kenan Thompson in a 2009 commercial series titled "MVPuppets". In December 2007, James was ranked at No.1 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25 with annual earnings of $27 million.^[149]

James and Ice Cube have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. James will act as executive producer if the show is greenlighted.^[150] James appeared on the cover of the February 2009 edition of GQ magazine.^[151] He stars in the Lions Gate film, More Than a Game (2009).

Following an agreement with Fenway Sports Group to become the sole marketer of his rights globally, in return as part of the deal James and his manager Maverick Carter became minority stakeholders in the Premier League football club Liverpool F.C.^[152]

On April 10, 2011 James became the new global brand ambassador for luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet. He will in addition collaborate to produce his own limited-edition watch, for which he will donate the proceeds from any future auctions of these timepieces to his charity, the LeBron James Family Foundation.^[153]

Public image[link]

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James drew criticism^[154] when he declined to sign a petition started by his teammate, Ira Newble, regarding the Chinese government's alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue.^[155][156] A year later, James did talk publicly about the issue, saying, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights. And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."^[157]

James received criticism from Cleveland fans and critics for attending Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat. James said, "As individuals I want every Indian to succeed. I love all these fans for coming out and supporting us. But team-wise I want the Yankees to win." Despite residing in Ohio for all of his childhood, James added that he grew up as a Yankees fan, a Dallas Cowboys fan and a Chicago Bulls fan.^[158] In January 2008, Nike released the Air Zoom V LeBron shoe, which featured a Yankees-type motif and was made available only in New York City.^[159]

		The WWI Destroy This Mad Brute poster, the 1933 King Kong movie poster and the April 2008 Vogue cover with James and Gisele Bündchen which critics claim referenced the earlier posters.[160][161]		The WWI Destroy This Mad Brute poster, the 1933 King Kong movie poster and the April 2008 Vogue cover with James and Gisele Bündchen which critics claim referenced the earlier posters.[160][161]
The WWI Destroy This Mad Brute poster, the 1933 King Kong movie poster and the April 2008 Vogue cover with James and Gisele Bündchen which critics claim referenced the earlier posters.[160][161]