Not many players have had the privilege of claiming they were better players than LeBron James. However, James wasn’t the talk of the town initially during his high school days. Apart from Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, Lenny Cooke was regarded as the next big prospect.
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However, Cooke didn’t live up to the expectations and have a notable professional career. In a podcast, the former high school prodigy revealed a tale about LBJ that was instantly proven false by Gilbert Arenas. In 2023, Lenny Cooke made an appearance on the “It Is What It Is” podcast hosted by rappers, Cam’ron and Mase.
The panel discussed the guest’s distinguished high school career at length. While doing so, Cooke spoke about his first encounter with LeBron James. Cooke claimed that he wasn’t aware who James was, despite knowing the other top prospect.
“I knew Carmelo Anthony, I knew Amar’e Stoudemire, I knew Raymond Felton, I knew Chris Bosh. Never heard this kid from Akron.”
Cooke revealed that he only learned about LeBron on the day of their clash at the ABCD camp in 2001. While Cooke finished with only 11 points, LeBron won the contest by hitting the buzz-beater during this same game in topic. From that point onwards, King James entered the spotlight and took over as the #1 player in the nation.
However, Gilbert Arenas believes that this story is flawed. Reacting to this claim, Arenas first declared that James would’ve been the #1 player irrespective of the particular buzzer-beater.
“I can tell you how that would’ve panned out – nothing would’ve changed, sir. LeBron James would’ve still been ended up being the #1 player in the country. That shot didn’t make him the #1 in the country,” Arenas boldly claimed.
Arenas also gave his two cents on Cooke’s claims of James taking over as the #1 player while he fell down to #3. According to Agent Zero, Cooke and James weren’t in the same class. Cooke was three years older and a senior when LeBron, in his sophomore year, defeated him in the camp.
“LeBron James was a sophomore, Lenny was a senior… He’s 3 years older… So yeah, it’s a big deal when an underclassman, a kid that’s 15 comes in and rocks you. That was the difference. You didn’t know about the kid because he was younger,” Arenas refuted Cooke’s statements.
It seems absurd that Lenny Cooke will lie about the story. From what it seems like, he is finding different excuses to explain his downfall. In this case, he claimed that James took over the spotlight and emerged as the best player in the nation. James’ emergence should not have affected Cooke.
Lenny was influenced by certain agents to declare for the 2002 NBA Draft even before he got any college basketball experience. Unfortunately, he wasn’t picked by any of the 30 franchises and the downfall of his career began. Apart from a D League and Summer League stint, Cooke never made his way to the NBA. He had to settle by playing overseas. On the other hand, LeBron James declared for the immediate next draft and was selected as the #1 pick.
