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He's not just Ken anymore. Barbie 's longtime companion just got a slam dunk transformation. Mattel has introduced a Ken doll made in the likeness of legendary NBA star LeBron James , marking the first such figure honoring a pro athlete since the toy character debuted in 1961, two years after Barbie.
The Los Angeles Lakers player is the first person to be part of the new Barbie Signature Kenbassadors Collection, according to the brand's April 9 press release. "As a young kid, I was fortunate to have role models who not only inspired me but also showed me what’s possible through hard work and dedication," LeBron said in a statement provided by Mattel. "Now, as an adult, I understand how vital it is for young people to have positive figures to look up to.
" The 40-year-old continued, "That’s why partnering with Barbie to release the LeBron James Kenbassadors doll is such an honor. It’s an opportunity to recognize the powerful impact of role models who instill confidence, inspire dreams, and show kids that they, too, can achieve greatness." Mattel worked with the athlete and his LeBron James Family Foundation on the Ken Doll, which the toy manufacturer said recognizes the four-time MVP's positive impact on culture, style and community.
Of course, it also honors his legacy in athletics, with the LeBron figure standing one inch taller than a standard Ken doll. It sports a custom blue and white varsity jacket, as well as the LeBron James Family Foundation's signature "We Are Family” T-shirt, black and white houndstooth-patterned pants, Nike Terminator High sneakers, Beats headphones, sunglasses, a fanny pack, a watch and the basketball star's "I Promise" band. The Barbie Signature LeBron James Kenbassadors doll will be available to purchase for $75 at select Target stores and online at Target.
com, Amazon, Walmart and Mattel Creations starting April 14. While LeBron is the first pro athlete to receive his own Ken doll, he is not the first sports player to have joined the Barbie universe. In 2024, the company released a collectible Sue Bird Barbie doll in honor of the retired WNBA star.
Other celebs who have had Barbies created in their likeness over the years include late singer Aaliyah , Cher , Beyoncé , Heidi Klum and Kate Middleton and Prince William . Look back at LeBron's history of activism..
. The LeBron James Family Foundation got off the ground not long after James went No. 1 in the NBA draft right out of Akron's St.
Vincent-St. Mary High School and joined his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in 2003. Over the years, the foundation has poured millions of dollars into helping to lift up the city's youth who were considered at risk of dropping out, getting them on a path to college and providing resources to help whole families stay engaged with their kids' education.
"From the beginning, when I started to do my foundation work, I wanted to do something that would be sustainable, and not just do 'one-offs,'" James explained to the Northeast Ohio Media Group in 2014. "You do something one summer and then it's over and done with. I wanted to do something that they would be empowered by, that was going to be sustainable, something that would last for generations.
And to this point we've done such a great job." By then, more than 800 kids were on the graduation path with help from the foundation's I Promise program. James started the annual King-for-Kids Bike-A-Thon in Akron to benefit local youth programs.
Bicycles were given to the children as part of his foundation's Wheels for Education program (which also donated backpacks and laptops to students starting in the third grade), and they got to ride alongside LeBron and some of his NBA star pals, such as Chris Paul , pictured here in 2009. As much flak as he and ESPN got for turning his decision to take his talents to Miami into a televised spectacle, LeBron earmarked $2.5 million of the proceeds the 2010 special brought in for the Boys and Girls Club of America, an organization he has worked with at chapters around the country.
In 2015, James' foundation announced, through a partnership with the University of Akron, a four-year scholarship to cover tuition and general school fees for the 1,100 kids participating in the I Promise program and enrolled in the Akron public schools system, a roughly $42 million endeavor. "It's the reason I do what I do," James said at an event for kids held at Cedar Point Amusement Park, per ESPN . "These students have big dreams, and I'm happy to do everything I can to help them get there.
They're going to have to earn it, but I'm excited to see what these kids can accomplish knowing that college is in their futures." The first class of scholarship recipients is on track to graduate in 2021. "It means so much because, as a kid growing up in the inner city and a lot of African-American kids, you don't really think past high school," James also said.
"You don't really know your future. You hear high school all the time, and you graduate high school, and then you never think past that because either it's not possible or your family's not financially stable to even be able to support a kid going to college." It certainly didn't hurt local morale when James led the Cavs to their first-ever NBA Championship in 2016.
James, his foundation and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter kicked in $2.5 million to help fund the Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture when the institution opened in its new home on the National Mall in 2016. "Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside the ring—what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor," James told USA Today at the time.
"I think of him every day. Without his passion and goals and morals, I don't know if I'd be sitting here today talking to you about it." Fellow big donors to the exhibit included Michael Jordan , who gave $5 million, and Magic Johnson , who added another $1 million.
LeBron's choice, along with teammate Kyrie Irving , to wear the "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt they'd been sent from the Brooklyn Nets' Jarrett Jack on Dec. 8, 2014, in the wake of 43-year-old Eric Garner's death after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold, marked a political turning point for him when it came to speaking out publicly and more pointedly about race and police brutality. Jack wore a shirt during warm-ups before that night's home game against the Cavs as well, as did teammates Kevin Garnett , Deron Williams and Alan Anderson .
Around the league over the ensuing days, Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant were among those who also wore the "I Can't Breathe" shirt. "I think it's really important that we show our respect to the families," Irving told reporters in the locker room before the game. "More importantly we're in the city where tragedy happened and it's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one.
It hits close to home and means a lot to me." James had called it a "possibility" that he'd wear the shirt out on the court. Asked what the gesture meant to him later, he replied, "I don't know.
It's not for us to figure out. It's just for us to understand what we're going through as a society. I've been forwarded over and over about what's been going on.
This is more of a notion to the family more than anything. As a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another no matter what race you are.
But it's more of a shout-out to the family more than anything because they're the ones who should be getting the energy and effort." Kids of all ages love him everywhere. LeBron met with young fans at a father-son event in Hong Kong in 2014.
James and Stephen Curry visited students in 2015 at the High School of Graphic Communication Arts in New York as part of NBA FIT, a league program that promotes physical and mental health wellness for fans of all ages. James endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, speaking at a rally in Cleveland two days before the election. The LeBron James Family Fund, in collaboration with the Akron Public School District, celebrated the opening of the I Promise School in July 2018, what will eventually be a 1st-through-8th-grade school tailored to give students an enriched, state-of-the-art learning experience, as well as access to medical services and other necessities.
While it's a taxpayer-funded public school, the foundation provides over $1 million a year to go toward teacher salaries, having enough staff to limit class sizes to 20 students, after school programs, tutors and other resources for families to utilize. Meanwhile, the I Promise Network serves kids through 11th grade, and they're looking to add 12th by the 2020-21 school year. When COVID-19 forced public schools to shutter around the country, the foundation arranged for I Promise's Family Resource Center to stay open to give people access to medical care, mental health resources, food and shelter.
They also teamed with Smuckers and Akron Food Bank to prep and give care packages filled with food, toothpaste and toilet paper to its 1,443 enrolled students and their families. James also started doing Taco Tuesdays for the kids and their families in March, providing meal packages that could feed four or five people for each of the school's 340 students. Capping off a good year, LeBron was presented with the NBA Cares Community Assist Award in 2018 for his dedication to bettering the lives of children in his hometown.
"To be able to support and create opportunities for the kids in Akron who are in danger of falling through the cracks means everything to me because I was one of those kids," he said at the time. "I'm proud and excited to create a school and provide resources that will help these students earn an education that will change their lives and give them a better future..
