The only known basketball game where both Michael Jordan and LeBron James played together is believed to be in a pickup game in California in 2001 where a 16-year-old LeBron James played alongside Jordan and other NBA veterans such as Metta Sandiford-Artest and Tim Hardaway Sr.
In an appearance on the ‘Draymond Green Show,’ guest Hardaway Sr. confirmed the statements that LeBron dominated against NBA veterans while a sophomore in high school, who was just a week removed from a broken wrist.
“We wanted to see what he had and what he could do. He didn’t do it all the time. He had broken his wrist and it was like a week after he took the cast off. He came in and was playing.”
LeBron’s incredible athletic feats won over the veterans who watched him play that day, including Hardaway, who deemed his ability to be incredible and a clear sign that he was going to dominate in the NBA.
“He came down on a fastbreak, we thought he was gonna pass, this motherf***** took off from the free throw line… He just took off, he missed, but he took off. It was a 3-on-2, we thought he was going to pass. It was like in slow motion. I was like, ‘Damn!’ He just missed because the ball slipped out of his hands, but I said, that was incredible.”
“For a 16-year-old kid to come in and do sh*t like that. He was masking shots, playing defense, and passing the ball, you could feel his presence. You knew that he was going to be that motherf***er in the NBA. He was real at 16, 17, 18, whatever. He was real.”
LeBron recently discussed the game on the ‘New Heights’ podcast with NFL Champions Jason and Travis Kelce.
“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.”
“I was unguardable. 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.”
This story has also been discussed by Ron Artest on Paul George’s Podcast. He openly said that 16-year-old LeBron made him question his abilities despite Artest being a first-round Draft pick who was older than James.
“He was cooking. He was 15 or 16, posting, getting to the basket, and I was like, this is going to be a huge issue. 3 more years? He’s right there. When I saw that, it motivated me. I was like, ‘I gotta get to work.’ He came into the league cooking, I was not like that at 15. I’m 5 years older than LeBron, so I was 20 going on 21. He could’ve gone pro in high school.”
This is one of the greatest NBA urban legend stories now, as it’s the only confirmed encounter between James and Jordan on a court. Hopefully, we one day miraculously get footage of this game and can witness the two legends on a court together.
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