Actor Timothee Chalamet was the latest guest on LeBron James‘ Mind the Game podcast, and he had an interesting question for the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. Chalamet wanted to know whether it was more motivating for LeBron to climb to the top or stay there, and he went with the former, largely because of his mother, Gloria James.
“Was it more motivating to climb or staying there?” LeBron said. “I think, yeah, I would say to climb through the ladder. But also, I don’t come from s***, like where I grew up… Single-parent household, only child. My mother was 16 years. She was a high school sophomore when she had me. She didn’t work. So, she grinded every day.”
A 16-year-old Gloria gave birth to LeBron on Dec. 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio. She couldn’t count on any assistance from the father, widely believed to be a man named Anthony McClelland. McClelland has a criminal history and was never a part of their life. A young LeBron saw Gloria struggle to make ends meet and decided he wouldn’t make life harder for her than it already is.
“And my only mindset as I was growing up as a young man at five, six, seven years old was not to put any more extra pressure on a black woman in the f***ing ghetto,” LeBron stated. “I couldn’t do it. I think back now as a parent myself of three, and it’s so crazy, when I entered high school, my mom was only 30 years old. When I was 14, I’m like my mom’s old man. She’s old.
“I think about it now like she’s 30 years old,” LeBron continued. “… My mom was still trying to live her life. She was still young. She had to sacrifice being a parent at a young age. So the climb for me was so much more motivating because I wanted to do everything I could in my power to get out of the situation, the hand that was dealt to me and my mom.
“And then it turned from motivation once I got to the top to like determination of not letting nobody knock me off that spot,” LeBron added.
Well, LeBron ensured that Gloria wouldn’t have to struggle for the rest of her life. He captured the imagination of the basketball world during his time at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. He famously led the school to three state titles in 2000, 2001, and 2003. Such was LeBron’s fame at the time that he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 17-year-old high school junior.
That was also when LeBron was given the nickname, “The Chosen One,” and he has certainly lived up to it in the pros. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, and he has somehow managed to exceed the sky-high expectations that were placed on him.
LeBron has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, one scoring title, and one assists title in his NBA career. He is the league’s all-time leading scorer and is in the GOAT conversation.
LeBron’s longevity is unlike anything we have seen, and it’s enabled him to build up a fortune. According to Spotrac, the 41-year-old will have made $581 million in salaries by the end of this 2025-26 season.
To go with all the success on the court, LeBron has put together an incredible business empire as well. Forbes listed him as a billionaire back in 2022, and he is the only active NBA player to have accomplished that feat.
While LeBron deserves all the credit in the world for where he is today, none of this would have been possible without Gloria’s sacrifices. It’s no wonder then that he speaks so glowingly of her all the time.
As for McClelland, LeBron has not spoken about him. He has never even acknowledged that he is his father. LeBron did once famously thank his absent father for inspiring him. He used his father’s absence as fuel to become who he is today.
