“LeBron James is Talented For 18 Years”: Michael Jordan Doubted The King’s Readiness Ahead of the 2003 NBA Draft

LeBron James had been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 17, with the headline ‘The Chosen One’. He had also been named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball three times. He’d led his high school team to three state championships.

In addition, he had played in a number of high-profile AAU tournaments, where he had dominated against some of the best high school players in the country.

All of this had led to a tremendous amount of attention from NBA scouts and analysts. Many believed that James was the best high school player to come along in years. Some even compared him to basketball legends like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

James also signed a multi-million dollar shoe deal with Nike, which only added to the hype around him. The shoe deal was reportedly worth $90 million over seven years, making it the largest shoe contract ever signed by a rookie.

It was clear that many basketball fans were banking on him to save the league after MJ’s retirement. Jordan himself, however, wasn’t totally sold on the idea, despite seeing him up close in his offseason runs.

LeBron James didn’t exactly receive a ringing endorsement from Michael Jordan

Jordan was in his final NBA season with the Washington Wizards while all this hype around James was being built. He’d also had the chance to scout the youngster in pickup games that they played alongside each other.

For a man with Jordan’s pedigree in basketball, LeBron’s talent should’ve been amply clear. MJ didn’t, however, have faith in James to dominate from the get go. In an ESPN interview, he spoke guardedly about James’ prospects:

“I think he’s talented for 18 years old. Once he gets to this level, I don’t think he’s in the upper echelon of two guards or small forwards. I think he’s toward the bottom — respectively so, because there’s so much about his game that he’s going to have to adapt to.”

“He has unbelievable potential. I think that’s what everybody is looking at, everybody is raving about. But he hasn’t played against competition consistently, college or pros. He’s played against high school kids … You have to give that some credence.”

“Five years from now? If he takes on the dedication of being the best basketball player he can be, and continues to improve and accept challenges and not get comfortable with what’s been given to him or what the expectations may be, he could definitely be a good pro.”

LeBron has far exceeded the hype built around him

Over the years, LeBron has continued to improve and dominate the league. He won four NBA MVP awards and led his teams to ten NBA Finals, winning four of them.

He also became the highest scorer in NBA history recently and is widely considered one of the best all-around players in the game’s history. It’s clear that his legacy in basketball is much higher than what was initially prophesied.