Who Is Lebron James Dad? On Father’s Day 2016, LeBron James won his 3rd NBA championship, but there was no reference to his father. James celebrated the championship with his 3 kids but made no reference to his estranged father.
While most fans are aware that four-time NBA MVP LeBron James was brought up by his mother Gloria, we have yet to learn much about his father, Anthony McClelland. The ex-con has been absent from James’ life, and while he has attempted to rejoin The King, his efforts have been futile.
Here, what you have to understand about McLelland is as follows:
James expressed gratitude to his father for not being present in his life
In February 2014, James posted a picture to his Instagram account that quickly went viral. He claimed in the post that his father’s absence inspired him to get where he is now.
The excerpt on the photo was begun by taking from a serious piece James had with GQ, in which he debated his journey from poverty to becoming one of the world’s wealthiest athletes.
James told GQ in the interview:
I go from having $10 in my pocket to having $100 million. I was in high school. Yup.
He was convicted of arson and theft.
McClelland had Gloria, James’ mother when she was 16 years old. According to Viewology, the couple had been casual sex partners, as well as McClelland supposedly left her after learning of the pregnancy since he was completely disinterested in being a father.
According to ESPN Magazine, He’s been found guilty of arson and theft, to name just 2 of his many transgressions, and he was not the one who helped Glo out of her financial difficulties.
He’s Never Met James Before
According to multiple news outlets, McClelland never has met his biological son, as well as any attempts to reintroduce himself into his son’s life, have been futile.
News One reported after James’ Instagram post regarding his father went viral:
McClelland supposedly turned to a life of crime, including arson and theft, and James has had no contact with his biological father at all.
Before McClelland’s name became public, other men attempted to take advantage of James by claiming to be his father. In 2010, a lawyer from Washington, D.C. decided to name Leicester Bryce Stovell and sued James, claiming to be the basketball player’s father.
He went on to say that he would focus on providing genetic material to demonstrate he wasn’t lying. Stovell was “simply delusional,” according to James’ lawyers after the DNA test came back negative.
He reappeared in the picture in 2002.
McClelland resurfaced in 2002, according to an ESPN article on LeBron and his mother. James’ biological father wished to be involved in his son’s life once more, but he had already been convicted of theft 5 times and was taken into custody again a month first before the article was published. James, on the other hand, had no intention of ever seeing his father. He stated to ESPN,
It is somewhere far, far away.
Gloria James and McClelland were never a couple
ESPN Magazine broke the story of McClelland:
…the father was Anthony McClelland, a casual sex partner who is now well-known within the county and state penal systems.
James has frequently credited his mother with shaping him into the athlete as well as the family man he is today.
Will LeBron James Return to Cleveland?
Increasing evidence indicates that LeBron James is on the verge of going back to Cleveland as well as signing with the Cavaliers, which would be one of the largest free agent signings in sports history, surpassing even James’ own step from Cleveland to Miami just four years ago.
James has yet to make a statement. Multiple reports on Thursday indicated that the Cavs were the frontrunners, but as SB Nation points out, the odds of The King returning home plunged Thursday evening after predictions of an afternoon declaration failed to materialize.
The Cavaliers now have the salary cap space to offer James a maximum deal worth $20.7 million per year.
To make this happen, the Cavs traded Sergei Karasev, Tyler Zeller, and their first-round selection in the 2016 draft to the Nets and Celtics.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs pushed Celtics and Nets officials to finish paperwork on the teams’ three-way trade “immediately” to clear cap space:
The Cavaliers pressed Celtics/Nets authorities to finish paperwork on a three-way trade in the last hour, saying they needed it “immediately.” The cap space is now free.
According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, James and Paul met with Heat president Pat Riley on Wednesday.
The orientation of the Heat franchise will be radically changed by James’ decision, both because of James’ own worth and because of the implications for Bosh. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard and Brian Windhorst, if James departs Miami, Bosh is likely to take a four-year, $88 million formal offer from the Houston Rockets.
