King James

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James became a father at 19 last fall when his longtime girlfriend gave birth to their son. While James has promised to be the dad he never knew, some people are upset that he fed a stereotype: NBA players fathering out-of-wedlock children. "I was so mad at him when I found out about that," says Barb Wood, the librarian with whom James grew close, of his fatherhood. "He's just doing the same thing his mom did, having kids when she was just a kid. It's just repeating the cycle. He laughed for a few minutes when I told him he should marry his girlfriend. That's not even on his radar." According to James, he won't rule out a wedding. "Later on down the line," he says. "Not right now. I'm still young."

Cleveland is also begging James to stick by the Cavs; his bargain rookie contract ($18.8 million for four years) ends in 2007. Dan Gilbert, founder of online lender Quicken Loans, is forking over $375 million to buy the Cavs from longtime owner Gordon Gund. Gilbert says he'll do whatever it takes to keep James. Although James says, "I don't want to go anywhere else to play," it will probably take Kobe money, somewhere north of $130 million for a seven-year deal, to make him stay. The city is starving for a winner--Cleveland has gone 41 years without a major pro championship. Now that James is melting defenses with triple doubles, Cleveland, and the NBA, may soon taste glory once again. --With reporting by Laura A. Locke/Oakland and Portland and Chris Maag/Akron