Savannah James brought slam dunk style to 2025 Met Gala — even without her NBA superstar husband.
The entrepreneur, 38, made her Met Gala debut solo on Monday, May 5 — just hours after her husband, NBA superstar LeBron James, announced he’d be missing the event following an injury sustained in a playoff game last week.
LeBron was named an honorary chair for this year’s Met Gala; back in October, Vogue announced that he’d be part of the event alongside co-chairs Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour. The exhibit itself is inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
For the outing, Savannah wore a burgundy suiting-inspired gown by Hanifa, consisting of a pinstripe jacket with exposed boning and full mermaid-style skirt. — channeling the night’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” theme and “Tailored for You” dress code.
Savannah’s red carpet showing comes shortly after LeBron — whose Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs last week — announced on social media that he’d be missing the event due to an injury he sustained during the series.
Unfortunately because of my knee injury I sustained at the end of the season I won’t be able to attend the Met Gala in NY tonight as so many people have been asking and congratulating me on! Hate to miss an historical event!” he wrote on X on Monday.
At the time, LeBron added that his “beautiful powerful Queen,” would be on the carpet “holding the castle down as she always has done!”
ESPN previously reported that LeBron — who shares children LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., 20, Bryce Maximus, 17, and Zhuri Nova, 10, with Savannah — “suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain to his left knee” during his team’s April 30 game. After the game, he spoke with reporters and revealed that he’d have to talk over retirement with his family and “support group.
Despite a playoff loss ending his season, the basketball star did make history this year with his eldest son, Bronny, as the pair became the first father-son duo to share the court on the Lakers after Bronny was drafted to join his dad’s team last June.
And just last week, LeBron told a room of reporters that playing with his son marked the highlight of his season. “No. 1 for sure,” the father of three said. “That’s easy. It’s not even close. He has a bright future because not only can he play the game of basketball, he’s just a great f—— kid. I have to say that I have a lot to do with that.
Asked for his thoughts on a potential retirement, LeBron said he didn’t “have an answer” at the time. “Something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group, have conversations with myself on how long I want to continue to play. We’ll see.”
Catch all the minute-by-minute fashion updates from the 2025 Met Gala red carpet right here!
LeBron James will not be making his debut at the 2025 Met Gala despite being the event’s honorary chair.
The Lakers star took to social media to address why he won’t appear on the red carpet at the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition.
Unfortunately because of my knee injury I sustained at the end of the season I won’t be able to attend the Met Gala in NY tonight as so many people have been asking and congratulating me on!” James posted on X, the microblogging platform formerly known as Twitter.
He continued, “Hate to miss an historical event! My beautiful powerful Queen will be there holding the castle down as she always has done!”
Although James won’t be at the event, his wife, Savannah, will be there in representation.
According to ESPN, “James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee” during Game 5 in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sources told the sports network that the “injury entails a three-to-five-week recommended recovery timeline.
André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Tyla, Usher, and Kara Walker will serve as host committees.
The Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition is inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. The book chronicles how Black people have used dress and fashion to transform their identities and imagine new ways of embodying political and social possibilities.
LeBron James will be missing the 2025 Met Gala on Monday night despite being one of the event’s honorary chairs.
The theme for this year is ”Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,”and an accompanying exhibit will open to the public at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 10.
In a social media post, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar said that he would be unable to attend because of a knee injury he suffered at the end of the NBA regular season
However, he said the family would be represented by his wife, Savannah, who he called “Queen” in his post:
Kevin Love of the Miami Heat ― who played with James when they were both on the Cleveland Cavaliers ― followed up with an important question: “Who’s the injury replacement
NBA star LeBron James said Monday that he will not attend the Met Gala later in the evening—despite being its honorary chair.
The shock announcement comes days after he was bounced out of the NBA playoffs in the first round, which included him spraining his MCL—a band of tissue that runs along the inner side of the knee—when his team, the Los Angeles Lakers, lost their playoff game five on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately because of my knee injury I sustained at the end of the season I won’t be able to attend the Met Gala in NY tonight as so many people have been asking and congratulating me on,’ he posted on X.
It was not immediately clear why the injury would preclude his presence, or alternatively, why his decision not to come had not been announced immediately after the injury. ESPN reported the sprain was discovered in an MRI on Thursday and was classified as “grade 2,” meaning James will likely need crutches to get around comfortably in the coming weeks.
James was subbed out of Wednesday’s game after the injury but returned to play in the final minutes. Had the Lakers not been eliminated, the injury was reportedly severe enough that James would have been sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs regardless.
James, 40, said his wife, Savannah James, will still attend the event. She posted a preview of her outfit to Instagram on Sunday evening.
My beautiful powerful Queen will be there holding the castle down as she always has done!” he wrote.
His sudden absence will raise eyebrows and questions over the star-drawing power of the Gala, overseen by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, 75. For years its red carpet at the Metropolitan Musem of Art in Manhattan was more of a draw even than the Oscars but this year in particular it appears to be struggling to draw the biggest names.
This year’s theme is Black dandy culture, with the biggest remaining names being Pharrell Williams; who is now Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director; Lewis Hamilton, the British Formula 1 driver; Colman Domingo, the actor; and A$AP Rocky the rapper, whose wife Rhianna is likely to be the biggest celebrity on the red carpet.
James, who is an honorary chairman of the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, indirectly blamed his absence on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who eliminated his Los Angeles Lakers from the NBA Playoffs last week.
Unfortunately because of my knee injury I sustained at the end of the season I won’t be able to attend the Met Gala in NY tonight as so many people have been asking and congratulating me on!” the athlete wrote Monday on X.
Hate to miss an historical event!” he added before shouting out wife Savannah James: “My beautiful powerful Queen will be there holding the castle down as she always has done!”
The queen showed class before the event began, giving a hat tip to Met Gala history with a photo of the late André Leon Talley posted in her Instagram stories. A series of heart-hands emojis showed her affection for the fashion legend.
Monday’s gala highlights the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibit at the Costume Institute, with the dress code described as “Tailored for You.” That phrase is “designed to both provide guidance and invite creative interpretation,” according to a news release from the Met.
The exhibit is “a profoundly scholarly show centering an important legacy of Black-led sartorial innovation and creative expression that continues to inspire and shape our world today,” Met Chief Executive Max Hollein said in the release. It focuses on “suiting and menswear — from specific silhouettes to various fabrics and accessories,” the release said.
With James MIA, there’s still no need to worry about star power. This is the Met Gala, darlings. Colman Domingo, ASAP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, Anna Wintour and Ferrari Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton are its nonhonorary co-chairs, so there will be plenty of fancy in the house.
