LeBron Raymone James (IPA: [ləbrɑn dʒeɪmz], born December 30, 1984), commonly nicknamed King James, is an American All-Star small forward in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Throughout a high-profile high school basketball career, James was highly promoted within the national media in the United States, as a future NBA star. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers at the age of 18, becoming only the second high school player taken at the number one draft position.

Since then, at a very rapid and somewhat unprecedented pace for a player to come out directly from high school (setting numerous "youngest player" records), he has gone on to become one of the more prominent players in the league. Winning Rookie of the Year and achieving All-NBA and All-Star honors beginning his second year.

Rookie season

James was the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Because of immense public interest in James, he became an instant celebrity. Even before he played a single NBA game, he was awarded an unprecedented $95 million shoe contract by Nike.

Facing the Sacramento Kings in his first NBA game, he scored 25 points in addition to nine assists, six rebounds, and four steals on 12-of-20 shooting . He earned Rookie of the Year honors, finishing his rookie season with 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only three players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in a rookie season. The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins in his first season, but failed to make the playoffs.

2004-05 season

Following his rookie campaign, James played for Team USA in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece where he and his teammates won the bronze medal in men's basketball, the first time an American Olympic team using NBA players (called the Dream Teams) failed to win the gold medal. Due to coach Larry Brown's preference for experienced players, James did not see much playing time.

In the 2004-05 season, James became the youngest player to register a triple-double and the youngest player to score 50 points in one game. In the process he was selected to his first All-Star team. James's season averages also improved drastically (27.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, and 7.2 apg). Again, the Cavaliers failed to reach the playoffs, finishing two games over .500.

2005-06 season

The Cavaliers made several off-season moves in the summer of 2005, adding Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, and Donyell Marshall. The Cavs' front office underwent substantial management changes at this time as well. Long-time owner Gordon Gund sold the franchise to Dan Gilbert, who subsequently replaced General Manager Jim Paxson with former Cavs player Danny Ferry, and brought in Mike Brown as the new head coach.

At the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, James led the Eastern Conference team to victory with a 29-point, six-rebound performance. He was awarded the game's MVP award, becoming the youngest player to do so.

James finished the season with 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, joining Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a single season. James also became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 30 points per game in a season. During one stretch James scored 35 or more points in nine consecutive games. The only other players since 1970 to accomplish that feat were Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

MVP candidacy

Following the 2005-06 regular season, James was one of the top candidates for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He was third in the league in scoring during the season. He also finished first among forwards with 6.6 apg and 31.4 ppg.[3]

James finished second to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting. James was awarded co-MVP honors with Nash by The Sporting News, an award given by that publication based on voting of the thirty general managers in the league.

Playoffs

On March 29, 2006, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1998. In three years, James had transformed the Cavaliers from a lottery team (17-65 the season before he arrived) into a playoff contender, ending the 2005-2006 season with a 50-32 record, 4th in the Eastern Conference.

On April 22 James made his playoff debut against the Washington Wizards and recorded a triple-double, with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds in the Game 1 victory. He became the third player in NBA history to register a triple-double in his playoff debut, joining Johnny McCarthy (1960) and Magic Johnson (1980). Subsequently, in Game 2, James fell one rebound shy of a second consecutive triple-double in as many games, with 32 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds. On April 28 in Game 3, he became the first player to score over 40 points in his first playoff road game, with 41 in a win over the Wizards. The series sparked controversy on whether or not the referees favor NBA stars like Lebron due to plays where he appeared to commit travelling but were not called. The Cavaliers won the series 4 games to 2, and James tallied 35.7 points per game while shooting 51% from the field. His scoring average is third all-time behind Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for a player's first playoff series.

James led the Cavaliers to a 3-2 series lead over the defending Eastern Conference champion and divisional rival Detroit Pistons, a feat thought to be near impossible, considered the Pistons' strong reputation as a feared defensive as well as offensive team. The Pistons, however, eliminated the Cavs by winning the final two games.

James averaged 30.8 ppg, 8.1 rpg, and 5.8 apg in his first ever playoff appearance in the NBA.

Contract extension

James has negotiated a contract extension for three years (with a player option for a fourth year) worth $60 million that will begin in the 2007-08 NBA season. The deal is for fewer years (and less money) than the maximum contract he could sign, but would lead to free agency faster. Also in the NBA, a player with fewer than 7 years experience can only be paid a maximum of 25% of a team's salary cap. A player beyond 7 years experience can receive 30% of a team's salary cap under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement that took effect in the 2005-2006 NBA season. This has augmented concerns that he may leave for a bigger market, once the three-year contract expires.
Source : Wikipedia