LeBron James

Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, James gained national attention at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School and was heavily touted as a future NBA superstar for his all-around scoring, passing, athleticism and playmaking abilities. A prep-to-pro, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft. He won Rookie of the Year and quickly established himself as one of the league's premier players, leading Cleveland to its first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and winning the scoring title in 2008. After winning back-to-back MVPs in 2009 and 2010, he joined the Miami Heat as a free agent in 2010, a controversial move announced in the television special The Decision.

With the Heat, James won his first two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, earning MVP and Finals MVP honors both years. After four seasons in Miami, he returned to Cleveland in 2014, leading the Cavaliers to their first-ever championship in 2016, ending the Cleveland sports curse. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, winning another title in 2020 and becoming the first player to win Finals MVP with three different teams. James was the first player in NBA history to accumulate $1 billion in earnings as an active player and has been listed by Forbes as one of the world's ten highest-paid athletes fifteen times. Time named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world four times—the most for a professional athlete.