LeBron James reveals that he was dubbed ‘the Chosen One’ at 16 years of age and this was when he realized he would make it to the NBA.
No player in the history of the NBA has had more pressure coming into the league to succeed than LeBron James. Sure, there have been more hyped athletes such as Zion Williamson or even Lamelo Ball for that matter, but; none of them were given a spotlight quite like James and it was obvious that legendary things were expected of him straight away.
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LeBron James surely did not disappoint as he won Rookie of the Year honors and in his second season, made the All-Star team along with the All-NBA second team. Essentially, at merely 20 years of age, the ‘King’ was a top 10 player in this league. Fast-forward to today and he’s a 4x champ, a 4x MVP, and has countless All-NBA and All-Star selections to his name.
LeBron James’s success isn’t just predicated on his abilities on the floor. Off it, he seemed wise beyond his years. This was apparent in several interviews he had during his high school days.
LeBron James admits that he knew he was making it to the NBA when he was 16.
LeBron James recently appeared on the ‘Smartless’ podcast hosted by Will Arnett, and he revealed a bevy of things about himself. After talking about how he hopes his children face a bit of adversity in life, he was asked about when he felt as though he was league-bound.
“The beginning of my junior year, I was 16 years old, and I was on the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’. They dubbed me the ‘Chosen One’ at 16. A lot of NBA execs were talking and saying that if I entered the NBA Draft right now, I’d be the number 1 pick.”
Being labelled as the ‘Chosen One’ at such a u=young age would result in almost anybody cracking under the pressure. LeBron James however, is clearly cut from a different cloth and this is apparent by the way his career has turned out.
