California’s LeBron James might be gearing up for his 23rd NBA season, but apparently, he’s not doing it as a billionaire, at least, not according to him. The Los Angeles Lakers star, who’s widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, is shutting down those flashy Forbes reports about his net worth.
“Google search is a lie!” James told Complex in a recent interview. “That is a lie. It’s wrong. It’s way less. Way less. There’s a couple of thousand in my bank. That’s it. I got a couple thousand. I am free for me. Everything I got on is free.”
California’s Lebron James Opens Up About His Financial Status
Yes, you read that right. LeBron James, the guy who’s earned over a billion dollars in pre-tax earnings, says he’s broke. This is the same NBA star who Forbes famously declared became a billionaire in 2022, the first active NBA player to do so. After pulling in a jaw-dropping $121.2 million in a single year, Forbes calculated that James had officially crossed the billion-dollar mark. That put him in rare company, as Michael Jordan, the only other basketball billionaire, didn’t get there until 2014, nine years after he retired. But LeBron isn’t buying the hype around his own wealth. And to drive the point home, he even started listing off everything he was wearing during the interview.
“You see my wedding band? Free. My hat? Free. Wave cap duey? Free. Listen, Forever King is free for every king’s need. I ain’t got no money, man,” he said. He even joked that his kids are the ones with all the cash now. “My kids got all the money now! NILs and shit. They got all the money. They take care of dad now, I got nothing. I’m broke.”
Is Lebron James Really Broke?
Whether this was LeBron being humble, sarcastic, or just having some fun with the whole “billionaire athlete” label, fans are already eating it up. After all, this is the same guy who built a business empire with his SpringHill Company, major endorsement deals, and smart investments. The idea of him living with “a couple thousand” in the bank is almost too hard to believe.
On the court, though, LeBron isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Coming off a season where he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game, he’s looking to build more chemistry with Luka Doncic and make one more serious title run with the Lakers. At 40 years old, that’s no small task, but if anyone can do it, it’s LeBron.
And maybe that’s the real takeaway here. Whether he’s worth a billion dollars or just “a couple thousand,” LeBron James is still the face of the NBA. He’s still setting records, still playing at a high level, and still dominating the conversation, both on and off the court. So is LeBron actually broke? Probably not, but he sure knows how to make the internet talk, and that’s a currency all its own.
