Lebron is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Commonly nicknamed "King James" and "The Chosen One", the Akron, Ohio-born James was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA star while still in high school, and was named Ohio's "Mr. Basketball" three times. At the age of 18, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers.
Before his NBA debut, James signed an unprecedented US$90 million shoe contract with Nike. He has since set numerous youngest player records. In his first season, he received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and in the following three seasons received All-NBA and All-Star honors. He led the Cavaliers to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2006 and 2007; the latter year the team advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and the NBA Finals for the first time in Cleveland's history.