“Can LeBron James take legendary status?”: How the 4-time MVP was compared to Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird in his high school game intro

LeBron James was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at just 16 years old. That was just the beginning of the legend we’re witnessing today.

Unless you’ve been wilfully ignorant over the last 20 years, chances are that if you’ve bounced a basketball, you’ve heard the name of LeBron James. He’s been in the spotlight for basically as long as other GOAT-level players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Roger Federer.

Newer basketball fans might have learned about the likes of Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Andrew Wiggins, Zion Williamson and the like through mixtapes on YouTube. After all, these are transcendent no. 1 overall picks who had great hype in high school.

Well, LeBron James was on altogether a whole different planet in terms of hype. James established himself as perhaps the best high school player in the country in just his sophomore year. The buzz that followed him in the years after has been relentless.

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‘The Chosen One’, as the media branded him, was getting his high school basketball games broadcast on national TV as a senior. Yes, some people tuned in to watch this high school kid more than they’d watch real NBA games.

This amazing LeBron James intro includes all-timers like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird

Given this unreal amount of hype surrounding him, it was only natural that sports media would advertise him as such. This intro for one of James’ high school games is evidence of just how much basketball fans expected of him:

“The history of basketball is rich with legendary performers. Those who have dominated the paint, dazzled us with their passing, displayed uncanny marksmanship, and risen above the crowd.”

“Other than talent, the common thread among all these legends is simple – they’re known by a single name. And now, as we look to the future, a young man called LeBron attempts to earn the same distinction. Can LeBron James take his first step toward legendary status?”

This man had the world on his shoulders at 16. Courtesy NBA Reddit. pic.twitter.com/WIAjYNOJFN

— Amulya Shekhar (@tweet_amulya) July 23, 2021

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