Michael Jordan and LeBron James have been linked with each other ever since the latter started drawing comparisons with His Airness at the start of the 2000s. LeBron was considered an incredible prospect in high school, and everybody wanted to watch him do his thing from an early age, confirming that the hype was really high.
During all these years, the King has proven that the expectations were spot-on, and he even succeeded them with his impressive level on the court. He was dubbed Jordan’s heir during his teenage years, and MJ tried to take care of him whenever he had the chance, as well as offer James advice when needed.
Contrary to what many people thought, these two have had a terrific relationship that hasn’t changed with the years or all the comparisons. That was very visible last year when they reunited at the 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland, where they embraced each other in an incredible moment.
Michael Jordan Didn’t Allow A Teenager LeBron James To Go Against NBA Players In Pickup Game
It seems like this all started when James was still in high school, and Jordan protected him the first time they met. Charles Oakley recalls in his autobiography book “The Last Enforcer,” that a young LeBron wanted to meet his childhood idol Michael Jordan, and he had the chance to do it when he was 16 (via Basketball Network).
“After we met, I became like a big brother to him. He looked up to Michael, and I knew I could help him get to know Mike. When LeBron was a junior in high school, Michael and I invited him to come to Chicago to watch us play pickup. The run was at Attack Athletics, a place owned by Michael’s personal trainer Tim Grover.”
Oakley added that LeBron wanted to prove himself against a series of NBA players, at that time, but Jordan had his reserves about it. MJ wanted to prevent Bron from getting hurt and didn’t let him play.
“You could tell how excited LeBron was to see Mike play. Chicago always had great pickup games, and on this day, there was a lot of NBA players running around. The look in LeBron’s eyes said it all: he was in awe with Michael. What high school kid wouldn’t be? LeBron brought his stuff and wanted to play, but Michael wouldn’t let him. It would have been fun to see LeBron as a junior in high school going up against a legend like Jordan, but Mike didn’t want to risk LeBron getting hurt playing against NBA players.”
They met more times after that and even had the chance to play together. LeBron would reveal that he never lost a game when playing with Jordan, but sadly, there’s no footage of those legendary runs.
His Airness and the King have a long history together, and it’s really great to see that they’re actually pretty cool with each other, contrary to their fans. The GOAT debate is a huge one right now, but none of them is really bothered about that now.
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