In a guest appearance on the ‘New Heights’ podcast, LeBron James finally shared the details of his infamous game with Michael Jordan as a young teenager in High School. First, Michael went on to explain how difficult it was for him to get any playing time alongside some of the game’s top legends.
“MJ [Michael Jordan], Antoine Walker, and the rest of those guys did not let young guys get on the court at all,” James told Travis and Jason Kelce. “I was 16 years old, a Sophomore in High School, and it takes a while to get on the court. It’s usually when the older guys get tired and they don’t want to play anymore. But I did and I was able to get on the court with Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley, all these guys.”
This was at a time before LeBron’s 21-year NBA track record and nobody had any idea back then how great his legacy would become. As James explained, however, he gave them a proper taste of his talent as he obliterated his NBA opponents on the court and gave the veterans a true shock.
“I was unguardable, said James. “When I finally got out there, I was like, ‘I’m busting ass.’ I was nervous. I was nervous as hell, being out there with MJ and the rest of those guys. But I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to go crazy.’ And I did, I did.”
The event happened during one of Michael Jordan’s mini-camps in California when James was still just a 16-year-old prospect. According to James, he had to wait hours just to get a chance on the court because of all of the NBA stars in attendance. Once he finally did get in, his play earned the attention of Ron Artest, who cracked his rib trying to slow him down.
By the end of it, however, LeBron and Jordan went undefeated in an impressive display of power and dominance. As Jordan was phasing out, and LeBron was preparing to enter the NBA spotlight, we saw the passing of the torch in real time and it wasn’t long after this game when LeBron took up the mantle as the new face of basketball.
In the infamous game, Michael also reportedly stated “that’s why they pay me $33M to do this” after hitting a game-winner to beat Antoine Walker’s team. James was not only a witness to this, he was actively part of it as he and His Airness put on a show on the court.
Today, it’s not considered likely that we’ll ever see LeBron and Jordan on the court again but they are still always connected as two pillars of the game and the leaders of the GOAT conversation. At 40 years old, LeBron has come a long way since that 16-year-old kid who couldn’t get playing time in a pickup game but he’s not done yet.
This season, with averages of 23.7 points, 8.8 assists, and 7.6 rebounds per game on 50.9% shooting, LeBron is stealing the show just like he did alongside Michael and the other NBA legends all those years ago. Now, it’s James who would be calling the shots in those exclusive games as the longest-tenured and most accomplished star in the league.
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