LeBron James took wife Savannah to Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse on first dates

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- He might be naturally gifted at basketball, but LeBron James had to work hard from the start when it came to dating his future wife Savannah in high school.

Savannah -- or Queen James -- recently did an interview with Cleveland Magazine.

In that interview, the 31-year-old entrepreneur offered insight into her early relationship with LeBron, her ascending career and charitable endeavors.

One of the most interesting tidbits was when she discussed how she met the best basketball player in the world, who at the time was just a 17-year-old junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.

Her name was Savannah Brinson at that time. She was a 16-year-old sophomore at Buchtel High School, located about 2.2 miles from James' school. James and Brinson had a mutual friend who transferred from St. Vincent-St. Mary to Buchtel. That friend told Brinson that James wanted her phone number.

"I'm like, 'Um, nope. I'll take his number,'" Savannah told Cleveland Magazine. "One day I'm sitting around -- I was probably bored or something -- and I'm like, 'Oh, I forgot! I have this number for this guy that I can call. He seemed interested, so let's see.' "

James first invited her to one of his games. That meeting was followed by a gathering of friends at a local Applebee's. They later went on a one-on-one date at an Outback Steakhouse.

The James' have now been married for five years and have three children. Savannah and their youngest daughter - 3-year-old Zhuri - were at James' game on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. During a break in the game, James was caught on his microphone talking to his wife and daughter. He even went on a mission to find some candy for his little girl.

James also referenced his royal court in November, after being dissed by New York Knicks big man Enes Kanter.

"You ain't coming into my house playing that water-bottle-flip game again," Kanter said of James. "You know what I mean? I don't care who you are. King - what do you call yourself? - King, queen, princess, whatever you are, you know what? We're going to fight. And nobody out there going to punk us."

"Well, I'm the King. My wife is the queen, and my daughter is the princess," James told reporters. "So, we got all three covered."

Savannah is the founder of Women of Our Future, a program providing counseling and support from screened mentors for the freshman and sophomore girls at Buchtel High School. She is also a very active philanthropist in the Akron area and beyond.