How Savannah James turned her high school struggles into strength years before her life with LeBron James(Image via Getty Images)
Because I was nice, I feel like I got along with a majority of everybody. Savannah recently opened up about that period and revealed that fights were part of her teenage years, even though she never saw herself as someone who wanted trouble.
Savannah said she often stood up for her friends and had to defend herself when other girls had a problem with her. I had girls who didn’t like me and couldn’t tell nobody why they didn’t like me,” Savannah said during the episode. “I do feel like a lot of the fights that I had, it was me being just like an ally of my friends,” Savannah said on the same May 28 podcast episode. That started to change in 2024 when she launched “Everybody’s Crazy” with McDaniel on April 30. Before the podcast debuted, Savannah told PEOPLE on April 29 that the project felt “freeing” because it allowed people to see more of her personality.
Long before Savannah James became known around the NBA as LeBron James ’ wife, she was a teenager dealing with the usual pressures of high school, along with some very unusual attention. Her story, however, was not simply about fighting. Years later, that same willingness to speak up became a much bigger part of her public life. “I don’t [love to fight]. But I had to defend myself. I had a lot of that. “I don’t feel like I fought a fight that was my fight. McDaniel had her own theory about why Savannah attracted so much attention. Since Savannah and LeBron James were dating during their high school years, McDaniel joked that some girls may simply have been jealous that they were not the ones dating the future NBA superstar. Savannah did not directly confirm that explanation, but the comment added another layer to her story. She also acknowledged that she and McDaniel had both been private for years.