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What Happened to LeBron James’ Dad? Does Lakers Superstar Have Relationship With Anthony McClelland?

Amulya Shekhar
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What Happened to LeBron James' Dad? Does Lakers Superstar Have Relationship With Anthony McClelland?

LeBron James, who has one of the most moving stories in sports history, also grew up without the presence of a father during his childhood.

The legend of LeBron continues to grow with each passing day. James is now widely recognized as one of the 2 or 3 greatest players in NBA history. Many people even consider him to be the greatest player of all time, with valid reasons.

Over the past 13 seasons, James has achieved feats that can only be described as legendary, if inadequately. The King made it to 8 straight NBA Finals from 2011 to 2018, winning 3 championships.

He went back to the Finals stage with the Lakers in 2020, winning Finals MVP honors in a dominant win over the Miami Heat at the Disney World bubble.

His most recent achievement was passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 points tally in his regular season career. James was felicitated by the Lakers faithful and the NBA at large for the same.

Also Read – “LeBron James is both the youngest and the oldest to average 25 ppg!”: Incredible stat underlines the Lakers superstar’s legendary longevity at All-NBA level

Who is LeBron James’ father? How good is their relationship?

From all accounts, LeBron James has never known his father while growing up. His mother Gloria James got pregnant with him at the age of 16 in what’s been described as a casual relationship.

While there has been no official confirmation by the James family, a man named Anthony McClelland is commonly viewed as the father of the NBA superstar.

Another man named Roland Bivens is a person whose name often comes up in these conversations. Bivens was shot dead when James was aged 8 years old. It is Bivens’ fake picture that has been doing the rounds on social media – mistakenly – as McClelland.

James has never connected with McClelland in his 38 years. The reasons are obvious – LeBron feels neglected by his biological father since his childhood.

LeBron James made a social media post in 2014, crediting his internal fire with not having a father growing up.

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About the author

Amulya Shekhar

Amulya Shekhar

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Amulya Shekhar is a sports junkie who thrives on the thrills and frills of live sports action across basketball, football (the American variant works too), parkour, adventure sports. He believes sports connect us to our best selves, and he hopes to help people experience sports more holistically.

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