Savannah Brinson is back in the spotlight, with the wife of NBA star LeBron James now making what is an annual tradition of attention at the NBA Finals.
James is in the finals for the sixth consecutive time, and with each year there is a new wave of attention for the woman who has been by his side since even before his career began.
Brinson and James were high school sweethearts, meeting while students at St. Vincent St. Mary’s High School in Akron, where James was already a star and many of his team’s games aired on ESPN. Savannah Brinson got pregnant during their senior year, and was actually five months pregnant when she and LeBron went to their senior prom.
They now have three children together — sons LeBron Jr., 11, and Bryce, almost 9, and daughter Zhuri, 19 months. LeBron and Savannah got engaged in December 2011 and got married in September 2013.
Unlike a number of other NBA wives, Savannah Brinson seems content to remain out of the spotlight as she raises the couple’s three kids. But one small exception is her work in interior design, as Brinson has made a name for herself as a designer of furniture geared toward kids.
Brinson and her husband signed on to promote the home brand American Signature, and LeBron said the line is made with families in mind.
“The inspiration for the line came from watching LeBron Jr. and Bryce playing in their own bedroom and how much fun they have together. The most important aspect of the line’s creation is the name, Home Court. Home is where you have everything you need, exactly how you like it, similar to having a homecourt advantage in basketball. We want this line to have everything that makes a child thrilled to be in his or her room.”
But with the fame for Savannah Brinson comes some of the drawbacks as well, including getting churned around in the rumor mill a bit. LeBron James has been embroiled in some alleged cheating scandals, including recent reports that he was carrying on an affair with Instagram model Rachel Bush .
International Business Times reported that James sent Bush a direct message on Instagram, one that was very briefly shared with the world.
“Bush, who has nearly 230,000 followers on Instagram, apparently started the rumors when she posted a photo from the Cavaliers home game Monday. The message, which used emoji, essentially said basketball with bae. (Bae is slang for ‘before anyone else,’ or babe.) James was pictured in the foreground.”
“Things got more scandalous when James allegedly sent her a DM that said, “Hey, what’s up!” through his verified Instagram account. She posted the message to her Twitter account with the caption “Haha wut?” It was scrubbed from her Twitter account, along with every tweet and picture on the @Rachel_bush page. Lucky for creepers of the web, the message was preserved on Barstool Sports .”
Another rumor claimed that LeBron James and singer Rihanna have been secretly dating. The two have been friends for a while — so close that Rihanna flew to the 2015 NBA Final on LeBron’s private jet — and sparked rumors that they were dating after she posted a photo tribute to him on Instagram .
LeBron James never responded to either of the rumors, and Savannah Brinson has continued to maintain her low profile throughout. She isn’t making a name for herself on television like Ayesha Curry, Stephen’s wife, or gathering a following by posting racy pictures on Instagram like dozens of other NBA wives and girlfriends. In fact, her social media is filled more with pictures of her kids than anything else.
But Savannah Brinson will likely be seeing more of the spotlight in the next week as LeBron James battles it out with the Golden State Warriors and tries to avenge last year’s loss in the NBA Finals.
[Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images]