Who is Brandon Weems and how is he related to LeBron James?
LeBron James' best friend and former teammate, Brandon Weems, has been promoted to the position of Assistant General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Weems was the senior director of player personnel prior to this and joined the organization in 2015.
He has a special bond with LeBron James and their relationship dates back to their days playing Pee Wee Football as teammates when they were just six.
@cavs Cavaliers are also announcing promotion of Brandon Weems to assistant GM and Jason Hillman to VP of Basketball Operations.
Brandon Weems and LeBron James both grew up loving the game of basketball and eventually became teammates again as part of a rec league in Akron.
Although James was making a lot of noise across the circuits, Weems was also a highly impactful player.
The two were teammates at St. Vincent-St. Mary's School. LeBron led the team to three state championships in four years and Weems was part of two of those teams.
Afterwards, LeBron James decided to go professional and, unlike his friend, Brandon Weems took the other route and attended Walsh University in North Canton.
Brandon Weems longtime friend of LeBron James
“He’s my little brother” twitter.com/wojespn/status… https://t.co/ShHwxMNYVW
As everyone expected, Weems displayed tremendous talent and poise to become one of the star guards there. He was an All-American and also crossed the 1000 points and 600 assist mark.
Weems was a vital part of the team that won the NAIA national title in 2005. His successful career as a player at Walsh University ended in 2008 and after that, he decided to take up a career in coaching.
Brandon Weems and his life at the University of Kentucky
Brandon Weems was hired as a graduate assistant for the men's basketball program at the University of Kentucky in 2009. He was part of John Calipari's team and learned a lot from him.
In 2011, he was promoted to the position of assistant director of basketball. The Wildcats were a stellar team and won the national title in 2012.
During his time at Kentucky, Weems was able to form a relationship with some big NBA stars like John Wall, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Speaking about his time with Coach Calipari in Kentucky, Weems said:
"I was very fortunate that Coach Calipari really trusted me and he really took care of me. A lot of times when you're a grad assistant, some coaches can treat you as if you're not a coach, so they'll have you go get his car or something. But he really let me be a coach and he treated me as if I was an assistant."
After three successful years at Kentucky, Brandon Weems moved to Drexel University as an assistant there.
He served one year there and then went to Oakland University. By then, Weems had developed a good relationship with several NBA players, which opened the door for his first job there.
Brandon Weems' stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers
After serving as an assistant coach and scouting college players for 6 years, Brandon Weems finally got a chance in the NBA. He was hired as a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015.
Having already coached in college, Weems was well aware of the upcoming talent and contributed to drafting some talented youngsters for the Cavs.
After serving four years as the director of scouting, Weems was promoted as the Sr. Director of Player Personnel.
In just a short time, he has proven to be a key member of the management and in the recent round of promotions was given the post of assistant general manager.
Brandon Weems' personal life
Brandon Weems was one of three children born to Brenda and Darrell Weems. He lost his mother to cancer in 2006. His best friend, LeBron James, was extremely close to her and decided to dedicate his first playoff game to her memory.
James went on to score 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, thereby becoming the first NBA player to record a triple-double in 30 years.
Weems tragically lost his sister Ericka Weems in 2020. She was found dead in her home and the police have no suspects or reports to this date. Her death was mourned by the entire Cavaliers organization.
Just months after losing his sister, Weems lost his father, Darrell Weems.
Brandon Weems and his relationship with LeBron James
LeBron James and Brandon Weems have seen some extremely tough times together.
The 37-year-old stood as a pillar to Weems after the death of his sister Ericka. He sent out a pleading message to the whole of Akron to fight until justice was served to her. The tweet James released read as such:
"My brother’s sister was murdered this past weekend in her home! My brother family need answers to why and by whom. My city I need y’all to go to work and find out who did this awful, shameful, disgusting thing to such a caring, loving angel!"
AKRON OHIO!! My brother’s sister was murdered this past weekend in her home! My brother family need answers to why and by whom. My city I need y’all to go to work and find out who did this awful, shameful, disgusting thing to such a caring, loving angel! #Justice4EricaWeems❤️💔
Having already won many accolades and trophies together as teenagers, James and Weems combined to win an NBA championship with the Cavaliers.
James was as happy as anyone when he heard of Weems' promotion to becoming the assistant general manager of the Cavs. He sent out a tweet congratulating his friend, which read as such:
"Yessir!!!! Congratulations to my brother @BrandonWeems10 on the promotion!! So proud of you kid!!
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twitter.com/wojespn/status…Yessir!!!! Congratulations to my brother @BrandonWeems10 on the promotion!! So proud of you kid!! 🙏🏾✊🏾🤎👑 twitter.com/wojespn/status…
With Weems moving higher up the hierarchy and James reportedly having problems with the Lakers back office over the lack of help offered, a potential reunion of the two in Cleveland cannot be ruled out.