The NBA is currently in the middle of the “Melo Trade Saga” that’s been shaking up the Association for the past week. As you might expect, this has caused a great deal of friction in the locker room. More specifically, one of its high-profile players is unwilling to move on from one of the league’s biggest stars, yet another is refusing to come to terms on a trade, and another is demanding a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. We all know how this will turn out, but it’s still worth discussing in detail.
Ever wonder what LeBron James was like as a teen? Oh, that’s right. You didn’t know that LeBron James went to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, and he cooked up a nutritious meal for dozens of his former high school teammates. The annual homecoming game was held on September 23, 1998, and it was the first win for the St. Vincent-St. Mary Wildcats.
If you’re a basketball fan, chances are you have encountered LeBron James at one point in your life. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound All-Star has been a global superstar since he was a teenager. But, not everyone knows what LeBron James was doing in high school. According to ESPN, after winning a state championship in his junior year, LeBron James was approached by a group of boys wearing Chicago Bulls jerseys that wanted to ask him a question. The group told him they wanted to cook him, but they didn’t want to mess up their hair. LeBron James was skeptical, but they said they would do it in exchange for an Xbox.
Year in and year out, LeBron James has been educating his fellow NBA players for almost two decades. He did, however, have to pay his dues when he didn’t have the credentials or influence he has today.
In reality, James played against some of the league’s greatest names when he was only 16 years old, and he paid the price for “cooking” some of them. What will be his punishment? Metta World Peace, one of the best defenders of all time, delivers a thud to the floor.
While still in high school, LeBron James played pickup basketball with Michael Jordan and other NBA players.
LeBron James was 16 years old when he had the chance to play pickup basketball with his favorite player, Michael Jordan, and other NBA players in 2001. Jordan was ready to return to the NBA with the Washington Wizards at the time.
In retrospect, everyone should have been recording the game since it featured perhaps the two greatest players in NBA history, James and Jordan. Jordan retired after the 2002-03 season, and James’ rookie year was in 2003-04, thus we never got to witness them play in a real game. Obtaining footage of the two playing a pickup game would have been memorable.
However, since mobile phones were not as advanced at the time, no one recorded anything (that we are aware of), and we can only live via the tales.
In the year 2020, James reflected about the game.
According to Bleacher Report, James stated to Uninterrupted, “They didn’t let me play for like the first hour.” “… To be honest, I didn’t believe I’d be given the chance to play at all. And the only reason I played was because some of the men in the league became weary after hours…. So, to be on the floor at 16 years old, a sophomore in high school, with my all-time favorite player, it was like, ‘This can’t be real,’” he says.
While talking about it, James didn’t boast about himself or anything, but according to Metta World Peace, the King was cooking.
King James was forced to pay for his dominance by Metta World Peace.
On April 17, 2003, LeBron James competed in the Jordan Capital Classic. | Getty Images/G Fiume
Metta World Peace, also known as Ron Artest and Metta Sandiford-Artest, was one of the NBA players that joined LeBron James and Michael Jordan in a pickup game. While speaking on a podcast in 2019, World Peace, who had just completed his second NBA season with Jordan’s old club, the Chicago Bulls, reflected on what occurred that day.
On the Knuckleheads podcast, World Peace stated, “Nobody could defend him, LeBron James; they couldn’t guard him.” “I’m like, ‘He’s making us look bad.’”
World Peace, the 2003-04 Defensive Player of the Year, didn’t let James off easy, revealing that he delivered him a hard forearm while on a fastbreak.
World Peace stated, “He’s rushing in at full speed, LeBron James — bang; I lay him on the floor.”
The King, on the other hand, was unfazed.
“He gets up and starts cooking more; he’s simply tough,” said the former Indiana Pacers player. “At the time, he weighed about 225 pounds, but I remember him being tough.”
According to World Peace’s account, James was even torching NBA players at an early age, which may have been a premonition of what he would do over the following two decades.
LeBron James has continued to humiliate his NBA teammates.
As you are well aware, James did not stop there. Since then, he has continued to dominate NBA stars.
James has 17 All-Star appearances and four MVP titles since joining the NBA out of high school in 2003. He has also won four NBA championships and four Finals MVP honors.
He has subsequently overtaken Jordan for third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, with 35,367 points. With 9,696 assists, James is also sixth in the league.
The King may have been a baller when he was 16, but he’s been educating his opponents ever since.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
RELATED: LeBron James’ Recent Comments Reveal One of His Career’s Riskiest Moves: ‘I Didn’t Give a Damn’
LeBron James is basketball royalty, and he’s actually one of the best basketball players in the world. But there’s one thing about James that he’s still not able to shake. In the middle of a busy day, he occasionally resorts to cooking his Chicago Bulls teammates—sometimes even with their full knowledge.. Read more about nfl players drafted out of high school and let us know what you think.
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