Victor Wembanyama is being touted as perhaps the greatest NBA draft prospect of all time. The 19-year-old is set to be picked by the Spurs as the first-overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, and it doesn’t even seem close. After all, how many can compete with a 7ft 5″ big with the dexterity and fluidity of a guard? As it turns out, LeBron James can. An old clip of his even resurfaced recently, one that puts into perspective just how incredible he has really been.
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LeBron James was the best player in the nation during his senior year at high school, ‘St. Vincent St. Mary’. At the time, it was beyond obvious that he would be entering the NBA right after his senior year. However, that failed to take away any of the pressure mounted on the then-18-year-old’s shoulders. And yet, when he was told he would be considered a failure if he didn’t become a hall of famer, he did nothing more than quote something his mother said.
An 18-year-old LeBron James’s reaction to being given the fans’ ultimatum for him on national television
LeBron James has always been a poised man. But to show that character at the age he did is beyond human. For most players entering the NBA, while a happy occasion comes with some serious pressure. For some, it even proves to be a bit too much to handle.
However, even as he was informed of the criminally lofty expectations fans had of him ahead of his NBA journey, a teenage James did not panic. Instead, he did nothing more than gush about how his mother, Gloria James, raised him. Here is what he had to say, as you can see in the tweet by ‘Timeless Sports’ below.
Interviewer: “LeBron James, how does it feel to know, that if you’re not eventually a Hall of Fame caliber player… if you’re not eventually a first-rank Hall of Famer, a lot of people will say you’re a bust, or overhyped?”
James: “How does that make me feel? Well, I don’t look into the future. I always take every moment at a time, because you’re not promised tomorrow. And that’s what my mom (Gloria James) brought me up on. I just try to get better every day at what I do.”
James was unquestionably put on the spot with a difficult question. But, as he has done so often throughout his NBA career, he came out of this one too, with flying colors. The poise of the now 38-year-old has always been as incredible as his basketball ability. And it’s something that his mother deserves all the credit in the world for.
James even reiterated his words from the interview upon a second viewing
18-year-old LeBron James was so sensible in his words from this interview that even his 35-year-old self just had to shout him out. Here is what he tweeted out in response to the resurfacing of the interview.
Victor Wembanyama needs to listen to LeBron James on this one. After all, who better to take advice from than someone who has done what you need to do and came out of it as arguably the greatest to ever do it?
