You won’t see Savannah James on Basketball Wives anytime soon.
Throughout LeBron James‘ almost 20-year career in the NBA, his wife has preferred to stay out of the spotlight. In a rare interview, the 36-year-old—who shares LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., 18, Bryce James, 15, and Zhuri James, 8, with the basketball player—explains why she has kept a low profile.
“I just really wanted to enjoy being a mom and supporting my husband,” Savannah, who met the NBA superstar when they were teenagers, told The Cut in a May 11 cover interview. “I wasn’t super-comfortable with putting myself out like that.”
Savannah rarely joins her husband of nearly 20 years at public events, making a rare appearance alongside their kids in February when the Los Angeles Lakers forward was honored after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. And a month later, Savannah, looking glamorous, was photographed at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.
While Savannah typically avoids the spotlight, she does maintain a social media presence. In Fact, she occasionally posts pics and videos of herself and the family on her Instagram, where she has 2.2 million followers, and has a YouTube channel with Zhuri, which boasts 205,000 subscribers.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, a little bit much,'” Savannah told The Cut, speaking about the online attention she receives. “But I get it and I’m cool with it. I understood that maybe this is just where I’m at right now and this is my time to, I don’t know, be seen.”
Despite the attention, Savannah says she is “not a comment reader” when it comes to social media.
“I feel like that is going to put you into a rabbit hole that you don’t want to be in, she added. “I don’t think that there are misconceptions about me out there that I would even be inclined to address.”
And there is one particular social media platform she does not plan to try: TikTok.
“I told myself, I’m not joining the Tik-etyToks,” Savannah said. “The Tik-etyToks is for the children.”
