“18 year old LeBron James responds to adversity the same way Michael Jordan did”: Classic special on ‘Chosen One’ shows off his 52 points against Trevor Ariza in high school

An 18 year old LeBron James went off for 52 points against Westchester in high school with rampant comparisons to Michael Jordan. 

By the time LeBron James had reached his junior year of high school, he was already being lauded as someone who would be a failure if he didn’t end his NBA career as a Hall-of-Famer. The amount of pressure that was placed onto the St. Vincent-St. Mary stud was immense and something that he handled very well. 

He was dubbed ‘The Chosen One’ during his high school days after he was featured on an iconic SportsIllustrated cover with that nickname as the tagline underneath his picture. He owned up to the fame and expectations by getting those same three words tattooed on his back. 

Of course, the national media coverage was warranted. He was the most dominant player in high school hoops during his junior and senior year. He led SV-SM to three state championships in the 4 years that he was there and concluded his high school career with stats that seem eerily familiar to his stats in the NBA.

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• 27 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, and 7.4 assists per game in high school 
• 27.1 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, and 7.4 assists per game in the NBA 

LeBron James drops 52 points on Westchester. 

An 18 year old being interview on a podium after a high school game with 10 microphones and many more reporters all in one room is something quite unheard of. Yet, this was what LeBron James had to deal with given the phenom that he was. 

One particular postgame presser came after LeBron dropped a whopping 52 points against Trevor Ariza and his team, Westchester. He had 31 of his team’s 41 points in the first half and didn’t slow down in the second either.

Throwback to this LeBron James SportsCenter special…Time flies. 👑

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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 1, 2022

“I felt like tonight was the night. I don’t know why. When I know my jumper’s on tonight, I feel like I’m unstoppable,” said a young James after torching a couple of 16 year olds for a 50 piece.

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He wore number 23 in high school and the comparisons to Michael Jordan were non-stop. Not because of the way they played but with the way they won. They dominated their facets of the game and were relentless in winning it all. James would later go on to say that he was chasing the ‘ghost in Chicago’.