What LeBron James' Wife Savannah Really Does For A Living
Pretty much every aspect of LeBron James' life has changed since his days as "The Kid From Akron," the Ohio city where he was raised by a single teenaged mother, Gloria James. The one big exception is his love life. LeBron has been with Savannah James (née Brinson) since they were teenagers. Savannah played softball and was part of the cheerleading squad when she met the basketball-slash-football player from another high school in 2001.
By then, LeBron was already the talk of the town. "He just finished his sophomore season, and yet he might just be the best high school basketball player in America," Slam magazine's Ryan Jones wrote that same year. While she knew the extent of his talent, Savannah couldn't have imagined where life next to LeBron would take her. "We were two kids who started dating, as any two high-school kids would. Believe it or not, I didn't know that he was going to be what he is today," she told The Cut for its May-June issue.
LeBron and Savannah were together for 12 years before tying the knot in September 2013. At that point, they already shared two sons, LeBron "Bronny" Jr. and Bryce, born in 2004 and 2007. LeBron and Savannah's daughter, Zhuri, completed the family in October 2014. One of the most accomplished athletes in sports history, LeBron has the bank account to show for it. But that doesn't mean Savannah just sat around waiting for her husband to bring in the dollars.
Savannah James is an entrepreneur
While Savannah James has dedicated most of her time to supporting LeBron James' career and raising their children, she also found time to pursue her own interests. Throughout the years, Savannah has been involved in different business ventures. In 2010, she and LeBron launched a youth furniture collection in partnership with Ohio's American Signature Inc., according to WOIO. But she branched out on her own, too.
In 2013, Savannah opened The Juice Spot in Miami. "I would listen to him talk about his conversations with Warren Buffett or Jerry Jones," she told ESPN. "But I wanted to get into business, too." She had to close it in 2016 because she was having a hard time managing from afar following LeBron's departure from Miami Heat, the Miami Herald noted. But she was far from done. In 2018, Savannah co-launched K+ Organics, a brand of sports drinks for children. "In this day and age, there are so many more healthy alternatives for adults than we had ... growing up, but it's frustrating to still not see healthier options for kids," she told Forbes.
Savannah also has stakes in Lobos Tequila, Lockerverse, a Web3 startup, and NEZ, a natural deodorant company, she told The Cut. That's not all. Savannah is working on several projects that she's pretty proud of. "Definitely have some passion projects I'm working on ... And I'm super-excited about them. I think they're going to be amazing. They're going to be well received," she said.
Savannah James wanted enough time to raise her children
LeBron James was at the height of fame at the time the wives of athletes were all the rage. In 2015, just a couple of years after LeBron won two back-to-back NBA championships with the Heat and was about to win another with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, E! released the reality show "WAGS," which focused on the lives of players' significant others. But Savannah James never jumped on that bandwagon. "I just really wanted to enjoy being a mom and supporting my husband. I wasn't super-comfortable with putting myself out like that," she told The Cut.
While LeBron's professional life was on spotlight, his wife opted to stay out of it entirely. "That time, to be honest, was spent pouring into my boys," she explained. After raising two sons, Savannah got to relive some of the experiences she had with her own mom with Zhuri, many of which revolved around doing their hair. "It was a true bonding time that we had, and a time for her to instill confidence in me, tell me that my hair is beautiful, and embrace my curls" she told Vogue in March.
Savannah believed that raising her and LeBron's children to become quality humans outweighed profiting off of her connection to the NBA superstar. "The best thing about being a mom is definitely seeing the things that you're teaching them and the values you're instilling in them come out of them," she told WKYC.