Shaquille O’Neal’s “Grand Gesture” Led to 18-Year-Old LeBron James Rooting for the Lakers Over the Spurs in 2003

Before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James came out to support Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals against the San Antonio Spurs. This came after O’Neal memorably supported James during his high school career two years prior.

The home team put on a show for young LeBron, crushing the Spurs 110-95 in Game 3. Bryant was the star of the show, as he led the contest with 39 points. But Shaq came to dominate as well, posting a near triple-double with 21 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 assists.

In an interview with the late Craig Sager that has resurfaced on reddit, LeBron discussed his path to the pros and talked about his rooting interests.

When Sager asked James why he was at the Lakers-Spurs game, he stated outright, “I’m here to watch Kobe and Shaq. You know, Shaq came to my game two years ago, and I’m here to watch them try to get a victory.”

Los Angeles played some of their best ball of the season in front of James. Despite losing the series to the eventual champion Spurs, the Lakers were impressive in the game LeBron attended.

It’s only right that Shaq and the Lakers put together an electric performance in front of LeBron after he left the Diesel amazed with his high school display. With averages of 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 steals per game during his senior year, LBJ was doing it all every night for St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Shaq revealed he had never seen a high school talent like LeBron

Nearly every player who earns an opportunity in the NBA was a superstar high school athlete, but Shaquille O’Neal claimed he hadn’t seen a player dominate like James did since his own amateur career.

The Lakers great shared that one of his friends convinced him to go watch LeBron—already a superstar in the state of Ohio—while he was in Cleveland.

“So, we pulled in the gym in Cleveland and it’s packed and I see [LeBron] and I say, ‘I haven’t seen anybody dominate in high school like that since me,'” O’Neal said.

James was so impressive with Shaq in attendance that the four-time champion claimed the star forward was already ready for the pros.

LeBron obviously couldn’t declare for the draft during his sophomore year of high school. But as soon as he became eligible, LBJ immediately became one of the most highly-touted draft prospects in NBA history.