answers: nine
context: and five All-Defensive First Team honors. A prep-to-pro, James played high school basketball for St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was heavily touted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. He joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 as the first overall draft pick. James quickly emerged as a league star and concluded his first season by winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He would go on to establish himself as one of the premier players in the NBA with multiple accolades, including being given the NBA Most Valuable Player </s> to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron while Gloria struggled to find steady work. Realizing that her son would be better off in a more stable family environment, Gloria allowed him to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach who introduced James to basketball when he was nine years old. James started playing organized basketball in the fifth grade. He later played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. The team enjoyed success on a local and national level, led by James and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce </s> has a younger brother Bryce, born in 2007, and a younger sister Zhuri, born in 2014. At the time of Bryce's birth, his father joked that his two sons resembled "two small, small forwards, kind of like Tayshaun Prince." In his childhood, James played several sports including basketball and soccer, but his father did not allow him to play football or ice hockey over safety concerns. At age 9, he played basketball for the Miami City Ballers at a fourth grade AAU tournament while being observed by Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari. Ohio State Buckeyes coach Thad Matta joked,
question: at what age did lebron start playing basketball