SUMMARY
- LeBron James recently made NBA history by recording 40,000 career points.
- King James recalled the journey of being a rookie with high expectations placed on him.
LeBron James recently accomplished yet another milestone in his illustrious NBA career and made some interesting statements in the following postgame interview. Almost every single member of the NBA world should know a fair deal about King James. He is a 4x NBA champion currently playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and is regarded by many to be one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA.
Upon entering the NBA, LeBron had been hyped up as a transcendental draft prospect. One could argue that he exceeded the expectations that were placed on him as he recently crossed 40,000 career points scored in Year 21. After he set a record that is unlikely to be reached in the near or distant future, the Lakers star was interviewed and asked about his journey in the NBA.
LeBron James has no advice for his younger self
There must certainly be a fair share of NBA fans who are younger than 21 years of age, it must be near impossible for them to imagine how long King James has been playing in the NBA at a high level. After entering the league as a hyped-up draft prospect, LeBron turned the Cleveland Cavaliers into a force to be reckoned with.
Although an older and wiser LeBron could have given a lot of insightful information to his younger self, James revealed that a rookie version of him already knew the stakes and pressure that surrounded him entering the league and still managed to carry himself with respect and pride.
“I wouldn’t tell him anything honestly because 18 year old LeBron had a great head on his shoulders. He just did…He was put in a position where I wouldn’t wish too many 18 year old kids to be put into but he just had his head in the best possible position. He was raised the right way by his mother…He just told himself if you want to make a real name for yourself the only way that’s gonna happen is if you stay focused.”
LeBron on what he would tell his 18-year-old self. “I wouldn’t tell him anything, honestly, because 18-year-old LeBron had a great head on his shoulders.”
“Everybody wanted to see me fail when I got to the league.” pic.twitter.com/s9DH9gfHlY
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) March 3, 2024
King James even went on to claim that beyond a select group of close family members, friends, and fan base, the majority of people wanted to see him fail. That certainly leads to a greater question of what the 4x NBA champion had to undergo throughout his career.
LeBron’s prodigal abilities came at a cost
LeBron James was only 19 years old when entering the NBA and came into the league straight out of high school. Due to the enormous expectations placed on his young shoulders, many NBA experts at the time believed that he would never be able to live up to the hype.
21 years later, there is no denying that King James has met those same expectations if not surpassed them. Although many parts of the NBA world predicted that he would fail and crumble, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer managed to prove himself to be a prodigal talent and someone that fans can compare to legends of the past.