Houston Rockets rookie says he achieved ‘lifelong dream’ by meeting ‘idol’ LeBron James

Many NBA players grew up watching Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James dominate the league.

Of course, James was the No. 1 overall pick in the famed 2003 NBA Draft and has been one of the league’s biggest stars since then.

Surely, many of the NBA’s players get star-struck whenever they meet James. That seems to be the case with Houston Rockets rookie Tari Eason.

Eason recently entered the league, as he was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Rockets. The 21-year-old had a pretty successful collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati and Louisiana State University, averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game during his time in college.

Surely, Eason would love to replicate those numbers with a young Rockets team that is currently led by Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun.

Eason and the Rockets will face off against James and the Lakers a total of three times during the 2022-23 regular season, with two of those games set to take place in Houston.

While James likely appreciates youngsters like Eason showing him love on social media, the 18-time All-Star is probably more focused on helping the Lakers make it back to the playoffs during the upcoming campaign.

Los Angeles wasn’t able to make it to the postseason last season, going 33-49 and finishing with the No. 11 spot in the Western Conference. The organization has made multiple changes this offseason in hopes that it can make it back to the NBA Finals.