LeBron's mom Gloria shares King James baby photo in hilarious throwback

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar was always destined for greatness, according to his mama in adorable shots as a child.
Oct. 5, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA;  Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat, smiles after watching his son, guard Bronny James (9), dunk a rebound against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Chase Center.
Oct. 5, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23), wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers hat, smiles after watching his son, guard Bronny James (9), dunk a rebound against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter at Chase Center. | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

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LeBron James is always making headlines, even as the 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar sits on the bench with a sciatica injury.

The NBA's all-time leader in points, four-time champion, and four-time league MVP has nothing left to prove, but King James is always a lightning rod of debate. Is he the greatest of all time vs. Michael Jordan? Is he hurting the Lakers by not letting the franchise build around Luka Doncic, their centerpiece for the future?

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LeBron James, Bronny James
Oct, 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and son Bronny James watch from the bench in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While we'll let NBA experts and fans debate those topics, we can all agree that throwback photos of famous folks as children is always a winner. So luckily for us, James' mother Gloria shared some hilarious images of LeBron as a baby and kid in an Instagram post.

Needless to say there is no doubt where Mrs. James stands on any such debates, writing in her caption, "From his first steps in life to his first steps on the court, my son has always believed he could be as great as a king. 🩷😊"

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Gloria James, LeBron James
Feb. 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) poses for photos with his sons Bronny and Bryce Maximus, daughter Zhuri, wife Savannah and mother Gloria after the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The 21-time All-Star, which is still an unfathomable number, reposted the baby photo on his IG Stories, and not only is it adorable, but the Nike baby Jordans were especially on point.

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James has been a proud father in his own right, always applauding the accomplishments of his children — his Lakers teammate Bronny James, 21, although that too has been another controversial storyline that never goes away, Bryce, 18, who is now playing for the Arizona Wildcats, and daughter Zhuri, 11, who recently went viral for her insane speed playing flag football.

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In fact, James rocked a Bryce Arizona jersey as part of his fit for the Lakers game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 24.

LeBron James, Bryce James
Oct. 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James poses in the Arizona Wildcats jersey of his son Bryce James (6) during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

No matter how you feel about LeBron's on-the-court endeavors, and his pull off of it for NBA matters given Klutch Sports is run by his bestie Rich Paul, you can never question his loyalty to family and friends.

And that all comes from his mom, Gloria, who had to show off her baby King James.

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Gloria James
Feb. 7, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Gloria James celebrates after her son Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) breaks the all-time scoring record in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Crypto.com Arena. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

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Matthew Graham
MATTHEW GRAHAM

Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win (named Best Mobile Site by Digiday). He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.