Anthony McClelland Is LeBron James' Father: All Shocking Details

Publish date: 2024-04-24

Anthony McClelland, an African- American is LeBron James’ absentee father, and the casual former sex partner of Gloria Marie James. He is also assumed to be the same person as Roland Bivens and is recorded as a criminal who had been in and out of prison for different reasons such as theft, among other listed crimes. 

His 39 years old son, LeBron, whom Anthony “Tony” had left is a 4x Most Valuable Player, 4x NBA Champion, and NBA Finals MVP, and one of the most celebrated and greatest basketball players. He plays for Los Angeles Lakers and had played for Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat since his NBA drafting in 2003.

Table of Contents

Profile Summary of LeBron James’ Father

Personal Profile

Anthony McClelland Reportedly Changed His Name and Age

Tony was said to be born Roland Bivens before he changed his name to Anthony McClelland. This, according to some claims was a result of the suggestion that Roland changed his name due to his criminal records.

Apart from this assertion as recorded by some sources, Roland attended the same school as LeBron’s mother, Gloria Marie James. While the former was about 18 and 19 at the time LeBron was born in 1984, Anthony’s age at the time has been listed as 29.

The story has gone deeper with the tale that Roland, LeBron James’ father died in an accident in 1994 when the basketball star was 8 years old. However, some documentation has cited that McClelland, known as the real father of James was arrested in 2002 when the Akron-born LeBron was 18 years old.

For claimers, LeBron even has a close resemblance with Roland who allegedly also played basketball and even share a similar style of play.

These suggestions have nonetheless not been verified, and for all that we know, Anthony is the listed father of LeBron.

Has Anthony Ever Met LeBron James?

Tony was clearly never part of LeBron’s life, but he may or not have seen him at birth. Anyway, since James is a force to reckon with and appears time and again on TV and several, and with his pictures plastered on the internet among other outlets, there is a certainty that McClelland may have seen his son.

Despite this, LeBron took to Instagram in 2014 to acknowledge that he had no idea of who his father was. Yet, he was grateful for the absence since it contributed to making him who he is.

The absence had also contributed to the struggle that LeBron faced as a child. He had to move from place to place and sometimes stayed out of school since his mother could not afford some basics.

Well, 18 years after the birth of LeBron in 2002, there were claims that McClelland was making moves to move with his basketball star son but his mission could not be completed when he got arrested.

His not being part of his son’s life led to LeBron living a part of his life with Frank Walker, a local football coach who introduced LeBron to basketball.

Anthony Supposedly Abandoned Another Child

Also born in the 1980s, Aaron McClelland Gamble is the half-brother of LeBron James and also an alleged abandoned son of Anthony McClelland.

Gamble was also born in Akron, Ohio, to another younger woman.

According to many sources, Tony’s sons do not share any relationship apart from sharing common blood. Yet, when Akron’s mother was down with cancer, he tried to get help from his famous half-brother.

LeBron was said to have not responded or made any effort toward helping Akron’s mother.

In a few other sources, there are suggestions that the men may have built a relationship along the line. This claim nonetheless, has not been verified.

Career and Net Worth of LeBron James’ Father

There are no known established facts as regards the exact career of Anthony McClelland nor is there any information about his net worth.

This does not change the basic exposition that he was a criminal. He was arrested in 2002 for arson and theft.

In jail, he seemingly shared space with former professional basketball Metta World Peace’s brother.

Gloria James Had Another Relationship After Anthony McClelland

LeBron’s mother may have had several other relationships after McClelland but she drew attention when she was linked to a Miami-based rapper known as Da Real Lambo in 2013.

Lambo even referred to her as his wife. Regardless, the relationship ended and the rapper accused LeBron of having a relationship with Beyonce. He further alleged that Tony’s son also had a secret child with Sharon Reed.

Whatever the story, Da Real Lambo is not the only man that was associated with Tony’s ex, Gloria.  She reportedly dated a former teammate of LeBron, Dolente West.

She was also linked to Leicester Bryce Stovell. He claimed that he had a relationship with her and went as far as suing LeBron for $4 million, claiming that he was his biological father. For all, a paternity test was carried out and it showed that Bryce did not father the basketballer.

See Also: Ted Jorgensen Was Jeff Bezos’ Father: 10 Unknown Facts About Him

Where is LeBron James’ Father Now?

Anthony McClelland reportedly lives in Ohio, the United States. He is said to have been living a quiet life and trying to be better and also trying to create a relationship with his son and perhaps get to meet his daughter-in-law Savannah Brinson and grandchildren – Bronny James, Bryce, and Zhuri.

Although there are social media pages in his name, none seems to be handled by him.

In another light, his son is currently creating history in sports as one of the greatest in basketball and is often compared to the likes of Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

Currently, 6 feet 9 inches tall LeBron who was drafted in 2003 plays for Los Angeles Lakers. He previously played for Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. At the time of this writing, James has scored the most career points in the playoffs, and the second most career assists among others.

On the other hand, Gloria whom Tony had LeBron with is an African-American philanthropist, advocate, socialite, and the Vice President of the LeBron James Family Foundation.

Heading back to Anthony McClelland who lives a low-profile life and is the absentee father of LeBron James, there are questions if the ex-convict and his basketballer son would one day have a good relationship. Regardless, he is one of the reported 18.4 million and 1 in 4 biological, step, and adoptive fathers that live out of the homes where their children are. Yet, like famous people such as Jay-Z whose father abandoned them, he still made a huge mark as a star and father.

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