“LeBron James lived up to the hype, it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen”: When Charles Barkley was in awe of the Lakers superstar for handling all the pressure

Charles Barkley compliments LeBron James for never getting into any trouble and for living up to the hype; says it’s one of the greatest things he’s ever seen. 

Many believe that Zion Williamson was the most hyped prospect entering the league since LeBron James in 2003 and though this may be true, it doesn’t capture the gravity of how much people expected from the Cavaliers rookie. James was dubbed ‘The Chosen One’ well before stepping foot on NBA hardwood and had the entirety of the basketball world zeroed in on him. 

Fast-forward 18 years and LeBron James somehow exceeded expectations by a mile and is arguably the greatest player to have ever laced up for an NBA game. Charles Barkley seemingly recognizes this and showed love to the 4x champion a while back.

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Barkley however, isn’t always the LeBron enthusiast as he’s criticized him on several occasions such as the time he blamed him for starting the superteam era while also poking fun at him for missing the Playoffs in 2019. 

Charles Barkley talks about LeBron James living up to the hype. 

In one of the fewer, more positive takes Charles Barkley has had on LeBron James, he gushed about how the Lakers superstar has never a part of any trouble while also living up to the hype that surrounded him while entering the league.

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“To be 18 years old, come into the NBA, live up to the hype, never get into a stitch of trouble, is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Chuck. While on the ‘The Russillo Show’, Barkley talked about LeBron James in a positive light a bit more: 

“I think LeBron James is arguably the greatest sports story in sports history. He’s the only guy I’ve ever seen, who, the day he came into the NBA as an 18-year-old, was ready. For him to be number 1, that good from day 1 and all these years later to become one of the 7 greatest players on my list; I think it’s just an amazing story.