LeBron James has 4 NBA championship rings, and his biggest fan has been by his side every step of the way: Savannah James. She’s been there for LeBron even since he was selected No. 1 in the 2003 NBA Draft; his four NBA championships; 17 All-Star selections; his first shoe contract with Nike and much more. In this article, we decided to throw the spotlight on his wife with these lesser known facts about Lady LeBron aka Savannah James!
Savannah James: See 12 Facts About LeBron’s Wife That Only A Few Know!
1. Who is Savannah James?
Even someone who has never seen or touched a basketball in their life knows who LeBron James is. Although he’s arguably the greatest basketball player of all time ( Michael Jordan fans, please don’t come for us!), the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is involved in a number of different things, including shows, television, movies, fashion and more. Throughout his success, both on and off the court, there has been one constant in LeBron’s life – his wife Savannah Brinson.
It isn’t surprising that LeBron James’ wife Savannah James is an integral part of her husband’s life. In fact, she’s been by his side since they were teenagers when they attended rival schools in Ohio. As LeBron continues to dominate as a professional basketball player, Savannah is one of the few people to have played a vital role in his success.
But she’s more than the wife of a future Hall of Fame athlete. She has her hands full as a mother of three, while finding time to pursue her own dreams. Savannah has branched out to try her luck in various industries, including a brief stint in the smoothie industry, according to the internet and a joint venture with a healthy sports drink for kids. She’s traveled the world and called many American cities home to host her husband’s basketball career, but don’t let her glitzy lifestyle fool you. Behind the multi-million dollar homes and Ferraris, there is an Ohio native who continues to stay humble and never hesitates to reach out through charitable endeavors.
2. When they were young, Savannah James didn’t give LeBron her number:
Before LeBron joined the NBA in 2003, LeBron and Savannah were in the same major in high school.
Before he started playing basketball in the league, James had already impressed the NBA world with his high school games, except for Savannah. In fact, it wasn’t even easy for him to get her number when they were only 16 and 17.
LeBron asked a mutual friend for Savannah’s number. But even though Savannah refused initially, she secretly took LeBron’s number from a mutual friend without giving her own. One day, she thought of the “guy” who was interested in her and decided to get in touch. LeBron decided he wouldn’t just meet her, but decided to invite her to one of his games.
At the time, LeBron was that up-and-coming talent who, for most people, was on his way to NBA stardom. And Savannah was this sweet 16-year-old cheerleader who also played softball. Since Savannah hadn’t seen any of his games and wasn’t on the hype train for LeBron in Akron, his one-game invite did the trick for LeBron because a young Savannah was amazed by LeBron’s talent. That day they went out with some of their friends. It turned into a date for the two of them a few days later.
3. Savannah and James have been together for 20 years:
This year, the James couple will celebrate 9 years of marriage but have been together for over 20 years now in 2022!
This long number is proof of the fact that LeBron and Savannah are high school sweethearts. They met as kids, grew up in Akron, Ohio, and started dating when they were just 16. After their first date, because Savannah forgot her leftovers in his car, LeBron found her home to return it back to her. “I think he just wanted another excuse to come see me,” she said. They then attended prom together in 2004, and eventually LeBron proposed to Savannah on New Year’s Eve in 2011, at a party that also doubled as his 27th birthday party in South Beach, Miami – where he was living at the time while playing for the Heat.
LBJ and Savannah were a couple for a whopping twelve years before getting married on September 14, 2013. The lavish nuptials included a performance of Beyoncé and Jay Z including a star-studded guest list, which included LeBron’s best friend Dwyane Wade and more.
4. Her love for charity started at home:
Savannah James grew up the youngest of five siblings in a childhood she described as “pretty normal” in an interview with WKYC 3. As a child, she learned the importance of giving back to those in need. Her parents – JK Brinson, a retiree from Akron Paint & Varnish Engineered Coatings, and Jennifer Brinson, a nurse “occasionally took in youngsters in unfortunate circumstances, some of whom were friends of their older children. Savannah stated that her parents “always open their doors” to those in need.
Carrying this on as an adult, Savannah lends a helping hand to her husband’s charity, the LeBron James Family Foundation. Because giving back is so important to her, it only makes sense that she would marry someone who is equally selfless and “super, super passionate about his philanthropic endeavors.”
5. She gave back to her alma mater as well:
Savannah James has been on a mission to provide fashion help to students at her alma mater, Buchtel High School, as part of her I PROMise Makeover campaign. Launched in 2012 with the LeBron James Family Foundation, Savannah finds girls who don’t have the funds to buy their own prom dresses and gives them free dresses to wear to their dances in addition to meeting with student guidance counselors so she can learn more about each girl’s challenges.
She was forced to start the campaign based on her own high school experience. Although she was able to attend her own prom — with now-husband LeBron James, of course — not all of her classmates could afford to attend the expensive event. “And then you have a friend who says, ‘I can’t go to prom’ because I can’t “afford” to buy a dress.
Because she knew that PROM was a “pivotal moment” in most young American lives, Savannah was passionate, saying “I think the impact of the I PROMise makeover may just give them a boost that they can do whatever they want,” she said. “These are girls who walk the same halls as me… I love doing it”.
6. A funny story on what Savannah hates above all:
We tend to forget LeBron’s age as he continues to impress physically and in the game, but LeBron James is no longer very young. And the proof of this lies within this rather hilarious anecdote about Savannah James.
LeBron invited the two rookies to his house the following summer, As the good mentor that he is, and because they were only three years old when the King joined the league, Garland and Bazley showed immense respect towards Savannah, James, and the rest of their family.
A small comment was A little too much for Savannah James, who was very “annoyed” by the same.
LeBron James told a hilarious story about Darius Garland and Darius Bazley spending time with him this summer, and how the two became friends with his kids. As they were leaving, one of them called James’s wife “Aunt Savannah”, which she wasn’t a fan of.
“She didn’t really like it, because my wife has been 21 for 20 years! Because the two rookies acted with the utmost respect and weren’t being rude at all, LeBron added that the situation made him laugh!! The whole situation made him realize how young the league is getting compared to him.
7. She keeps her circle small, and for good reason, here’s why:
Not too many people know what it’s like to be married to one of the greatest athletes in the world. And for that reason alone, we can imagine connecting with others outside of the sports world is tricky for Savannah James. It’s possible that anyone she confides in could betray her and run to the tabloids behind her back to sell stories or photos.
“I think, you know, you don’t want to give too much to yourself,” she said. “So I keep my circle pretty small when it comes to asking for advice or help or anything like that”.
The few people Savannah James trusts are her mom, her sisters and “three very good friends” who know the high-profile celebrity wife inside out. Although she’s cordial with some celebrities, they’re probably not her trusted confidantes, including, presumably, Beyoncé. And for good reason. Lebron James’s stepmother’s ex-boyfriend, a rapper named Lambo, accused Beyoncé of being “LeBron’s centerpiece and that’s why Bey and Jay skipped the basketball star’s wedding nuptials to Savannah Brinson James , and vice versa “, according to our sources.
No wonder Savannah keeps a tight circle. Fewer friends, fewer problems – and hopefully less gossip!
8. Savannah is the “boss” of the James household:
LeBron himself declared his wife as head of household in a joint interview the couple had with Vogue in 2017. “I go away a lot, so she makes the rules, she’s the head of household” he said, explaining, “It’s hard for me to go on the road for two and a half weeks and then come home and tell my kids: “Look, that’s how it should be done” when she’s been home every day.
9. She is the mother of LeBron’s three children:
LeBron Jr. (Bronny) the couple’s first child came into this world on October 6, 2004, followed by the couple’s second son, Bryce Maxime, whom Savannah brought into this world on June 14, 2007. They welcomed both boys before marrying. Savannah James’s third with the NBA legend— their first and only daughter — came after their wedding in 2013.
Baby girl Zhuri James came into this world on October 22, 2014.
During their senior year of high school, Savannah became pregnant with the couple’s first child, Bronny and she admitted that “I was very scared,” during an interview. “I was screaming. But the NBA legend who was extremely mature at just 18 years of age said, ‘It’s not going to slow me down, and it’s not going to slow you down. We will continue to do what we have to do.
10. Savannah is an entrepreneur:
Savannah opened “The Juice Spot” In December 2013.
While her shop was constantly busy, the endeavor closed in January 2016, due to her busy schedule. Previously, she helped design Home Court by LeBron James, a line for American Signature.
11. Savannah was the inspo for a “Space Jam 2” character:
Sonequa Martin-Greece, the Hollywood actress who plays Kamiyah James (a fictionalized version of Savannah in the Space Jam: A New Legacy 2021 film) spoke about how she paid tribute to Savannah and her marriage to LeBron.
“I just appreciate that you see very clearly that these two have a very beautiful partnership,” the actress said about her character in the film’s sequel.
“They co-parent in their family really beautifully and successfully. I love that the success of the family cannot happen without Kamiyah. This family dynamic and the family itself being the root of the story is something new in this iteration. I just loved it. I was so moved by this and I truly believe it pays homage to the real James family and to Savannah James.
12. She’s been treated unfairly, but that won’t stop her:
Savannah James and her husband, LeBron James made the tough decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 after seven years and moved to South Beach to play for the Miami Heat. Cavs fans not only felt stiff, but sports fans of the various teams who were courting LeBron with lucrative contracts were also ticked off. Fans took to the streets to burn LeBron’s Cavs jersey, and LeBron and Savannah were even “bogged to New York” when they attended fellow countryman Carmelo Anthony’s wedding, Harper’s Bazaar reported.
While Savannah called the treatment of fans “unfair”, she and her husband proved they had nothing but love for the Buckeye State when they opened LeBron’s I Promise School for At-Risk Kids in Akron, Ohio. There, the students who graduate from the school will be paid tuition at the University of Akron.