When people think about LeBron James and his wife, Savannah, they marvel at the childhood sweethearts who have defied the distractions of the NBA and become one of the culture’s greatest power couples.
They have been dating since high school, when Savannah was 16, and their love story seems to be the stuff of fairy tales. But it wasn’t all peaches and cream, at least, according to a recent episode of the basketball wife’s podcast, “Everybody’s Crazy.”
During the episode, Savannah told her co-host, April Daniels, that while attending Buchtel Community Learning Center in Akron, OH, she participated in something that might shock their listeners.
Daniels asked, “What were you doing in high school?”
“Girl, fighting,” James admitted.
As her co-host shared that she “never was in a fight in her life,” James expressed that she could not say the same.
“I had to defend myself,” the NBA wife said. “I had girls who didn’t like me and couldn’t tell nobody why they didn’t like me.”
According to James, it wasn’t just tough for her but also for her “whole group of friends,” despite her minding her business back then.
“I do feel like a lot of the fights that I had, it was me being just like an ally of my friends. I don’t feel like I really fought a fight that was my fight because I was nice,” she continued before saying that she “got along with the majority” of people she met.
Daniels then blurted, “I would hate you too if your boyfriend was LeBron James. … They’re like, ‘Why couldn’t it be me?’”
To that question, the mother of three said, “I don’t know,” adding that now she doesn’t fight anymore, she simply calls security.
Social media was quick to respond to her reflection on how reckless she was in high school.
“Savannah James said she used to be fighting in HS really ain’t a shocker to me,” one tweet read.
Savannah James said she used to be fighting in HS really ain’t a shocker to me 😂😂
— Deku Meliodas Uzumaki (@Chris_CrossYa2x) May 29, 2024
Another fan gave Savannah a new nickname, “Savannah Knuck If You Buck James,” they tweeted.
Fans also responded to the episode, taking guesses as to why they thought women wanted to fight Savannah.
“Yeah stop playing Savannah you know why they didn’t like you. Literally had a walking meal ticket on your arm,” an X user surmised.
“She was walking around with the winning lottery ticket,” another echoed.
“So fine all the bi—s wanted to fight,” suggested a fan.
It’s not unusual to assume Savannah would have to fight off girls over her boyfriend, LeBron. When the two were growing up in Ohio in 2002, she was the cheerleader and softball player at LeBron’s rival school while he was the star basketball player at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
The couple had their first date at Outback Steakhouse and hit it off ever since. One of the few players to go to the NBA directly from high school, LeBron entered the NBA as the No. 1 draft pick of 2003. In 2004, the couple welcomed their first child, LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., during LeBron’s rookie season and their second child, Bryce James, four years later.
The two wouldn’t tie the knot until 2013 — making Savannah one of the luckiest girls from her hometown. A year after being wedded to her childhood sweetheart, whom her co-host suspects was the reason why she was always fighting, Savannah gave birth to Zhuri James, the couple’s only daughter.
Eleven years into their union, it appears that the two are still very much in love.
The Jameses not only joke with each other publicly, they also support each other in their business ventures.
Perhaps their relationship, even with the fighting in the beginning, is a fairy tale after all.
