Savannah James has revealed that she used to get into a lot of fights in high school because other girls were jealous that she was dating LeBron.
Speaking on the podcast ‘Everybody’s Crazy,’ which she co-hosts with April Daniels, on Tuesday, the NBA WAG admitted to often being involved in ‘girl fighting’ during her teenage years in Akron, Ohio, where she met her now-husband and Los Angeles Lakers star.
She went on to clarify that she did not enjoy confronting her peers but didn’t have choice.
‘I had to defend myself,’ Savannah said. ‘I had a lot of that. I had girls who didn’t like me and I couldn’t tell nobody why they didn’t like me.’
Daniels then suggested that jealousy was the reason behind other girls’ motives for the fights, as she replied: ‘I would hate you too if your boyfriend was LeBron James. But not really. I really wouldn’t hate you. But I feel like, yes. They’re like ”Why couldn’t it be me?” That’s why they were mad at you. No young women should be fighting.’
At that point, Savannah countered with ‘that is not okay’ and most of the fights were started by others, not herself.
‘… I do feel like a lot of fights that I had, it was me being just an ally of my friends,’ she said. ‘I don’t feel like I really fought a fight that was my fight – because I was nice. I feel like I got along with a majority, everybody.’
Savannah was a 16-year-old sophomore at Buchtel High School while LeBron was a 17-year-old junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary, a rival school nearby, when they first met and started dating in 2002.
LeBron invited her to one of his basketball games before going on their first date at Outback Steakhouse a few weeks later, according to Basketball Network.
The couple tied the knot in 2013 while LeBron was a player for the Miami Heat. The wedding ceremony was in San Diego, California.
LeBron and Savannah welcomed their first child and NBA prospect, Bronny, in 2004 before their second son, Bryce, was born in 2007. The pair also have a nine-year-old daughter, Zhuri.
In May, Bronny impressed at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, despite only averaging 4.8 points per game in his only season of college basketball with the USC Trojans. He impressed scouts in multiple areas – especially in shooting drills, going 19-of-25 from behind the arc – good enough to finish in second place overall.
The Lakers are believed to be interested in drafting the 19-year-old guard if that means signing his father to a max extension, considering that LeBron has a player option this summer and could opt out of his 99million, two-year contract with the team.
Other teams, including the Phoenix Suns, are in the running to draft Bronny if that means getting their father to play for them. In the past, LeBron has often spoken of his desire to play with his eldest son.
But, as the 2023-24 season drew on, the four-time NBA champion has distanced himself from rumors that he intends to follow his son, as he said ‘Bronny’s his own man’ after a Lakers game in April. LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, has also denied the reports.
‘He’s going to make his own decision and as a family, we are going to support any decision he decides to make,’ LeBron about Bronny and his basketball career, two months ago.
