Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James shared an awesome story of when he considered himself “unguardable” in a pickup game that featured Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
According to James, he was just 16 years old when the game occurred, but there wasn’t anyone who could take him on the court.
“I was on the court with Michel Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley – all these guys,” James said.
Travis Kelce then asked James who guarded him in the game.
“Nobody,” the four-time champion said. “I was unguardable. I was 16. I was a high school sophomore.”
James continued.
“I was in Chicago at M.J.’s court,” he said. “It was called ‘Hoops.’ There’s a clip out right now of actually Metta World Peace talking about that moment as well. When I finally got out there, I was like, ‘I’m busting a– man.’ I was nervous. I was nervous as hell being out there with M.J. and the rest of those guys. But I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to go crazy.’ And I did.”
There’s no doubt that from a young age that James was destined for greatness in the game of basketball. He eventually became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, and the current Lakers star is arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
A 20-time All-Star, James has four NBA Finals MVPs, four regular season MVPs, 20 All-NBA selections and a scoring title to his name. He’s won titles with three different franchises (the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers) and famously led Cleveland back from a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors in the 2015-16 season.
It’s cool to hear how James approached the pickup game at such a young age, and it shows that he was confident in his ability even though he was facing some NBA legends.
This season, James turned 40 years old, but he is still producing at a high level for the Lakers. The 20-time All-Star is averaging 23.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
With those numbers, James appears to be well on his way to yet another All-Star selection this season.
The Lakers have also played pretty well through their first 37 games. Los Angeles currently holds a 20-17 record and is the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
James certainly would love to win another title with the Lakers, but the franchise last made the Finals in the 2019-20 season. Hopefully, for Lakers fans, James can muster up one more deep postseason run – even at this stage in his career.
