Errick McCollum couldn’t make his mark in the NBA like his brother, CJ McCollum. However, that hasn’t stopped him from playing with and against some of the best hoopers in the world.
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His Ohio roots once even gave him the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James. The 36-year-old is from Canton, which is just 24 miles from James’ home town of Akron.
During an appearance on Jefe Island, McCollum recalled how he, his brother CJ, and LeBron James once competed together at a Pro-Am contest in Cleveland.
Since the McCollum brothers were active in the Cleveland basketball scene, they got the chance to build a squad to compete with James around a decade ago.
When host Sam Okauru asked Errick to name the best player he has defended, he said,
“It’d be LeBron, just because he from Cleveland, he from Akron actually…We was playing in a Pro-Am in Cleveland. I’m from Canton and I’m cool with Romeo, Travis. Romeo played with Bron in high-school.”
“So there was a Pro-Am in Cleveland when I was younger like 23, 24… We had a nasty squad and when CJ was in town he would play too. We won the championship.”
Errick McCollum also clashed with some other high-profile NBA players apart from LeBron James. He has gone up against Luka Doncic, who was conquering the European basketball scene as a teenager.
Errick McCollum competed against Luka Doncic and Michael Beasley
McCollum has been a part of many European teams since 2010. He has competed for multiple teams based in Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Russia.
He had the chance to go up against a young Luka Doncic, who was a part of the Real Madrid squad at the time. Apart from that, he also enjoyed competing against Michael Beasley, who played a season in the Puerto Rican League with Cangrejeros de Santurce.
He had high praise for both the players,
“I play overseas, the best player I ever played against is Michael Beasley. I mean him and Luka Doncic, I played against Luka Doncic when he was 19, he was at Real Madrid. He was special then, he is special now, nothing’s changed… Talent-wise, Michael Beasley is up there, he‘s different.”
While Errick couldn’t realize his NBA dreams, he left a significant imprint on the European basketball scene. He propelled Turkish club Galatasaray to the 2016 EuroCup championship, winning EuroCup MVP in the process.
