Lakers' LeBron James Reflects on Warning Financial Advisor Not To 'Steal' His Money

Given the financial struggles his family endured throughout his childhood, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is very protective when it comes to his money.

Appearing on the Everybody's Crazy podcast (h/t Sean Neumann of People) co-hosted by his wife, Savannah, James explained that he warned his financial advisor early in his career not to "steal" his money because the result "ain't going to be good for you."

The context of that comment was James discussing the different environments that he grew up in compared to his wife because she was raised in "a two-parent household and siblings in the house."

James went on to say he grew up "in the projects in Akron, Ohio, and not having s--t." That lifestyle has made it "hard for me sometimes to take risks" even as he has entered adulthood:

"I swear to God, I'm really like that, because I can't start over," James added. "There's no way. None of us sitting here can start over. I'm not Monopoly-ing this. I'm not starting back at, 'Pass go and you collect $200 to start back at go,' No, too far gone at this point."

It's safe to assume that James doesn't have to worry about starting over anytime soon. His on-court earnings so far are an NBA-record $581.3 million. That doesn't include his many endorsement deals and business ventures that has pushed his net worth to a reported $1.3 billion.

Per Sportico's adjusted-inflation earnings, James is the fourth-highest-paid athlete in history at $1.88 billion. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players ahead of him.

James is currently preparing for his 23rd NBA season, though his debut with the Lakers will be delayed. The team announced on Oct. 9 that he would miss at least three to four weeks due to sciatica on his right side.

The Lakers will tipoff the regular season against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 21.