Lakers’ LeBron James recalls being ‘unguardable’ while competing against Michael Jordan as a teenager
LeBron James celebrated his 40th birthday last December, while six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan will turn 62 next month.
Jordan played in 82 games with the Washington Wizards during the 2002–03 season, which was his final year in the NBA. Meanwhile, James was the high overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Although the basketball icons haven’t had the opportunity to go head-to-head during an NBA game, James recently spoke about the time he played a pick-up game with Jordan.
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(LR) LeBron James and Michael Jordan attend the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
James told brothers Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce that he was a 16-year-old high school basketball star when he met Jordan in Chicago at a pickup game.
“I was on the court with Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley, all those guys,” James said during his final appearance on the Kelce Brothers. “New heights“Podcast.
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Travis, who is preparing to compete against the Houston Texans in the divisional round this weekend, eventually asked James who was responsible for guarding him during the game.
“Nobody. You were unguardable,” James answered confidently.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dunks during the second half of Game 4 of their first-round NBA playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrell)
James admitted he felt a little nervous at first when he realized he had the opportunity to face an NBA star.
“When I finally got out of there, I was like, ‘I’m a clumsy–‘. I was so nervous, being in there with MJ and the rest of those guys, but I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to go crazy,'” James added.
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James celebrates a 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto on Friday, November 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Metta Sandiford-Artest, also known as Ron Artest and Metta World Peace, last appeared in an NBA game in 2017, but he was 20 years old during the time the aforementioned pick-and-roll game took place. He recalls the moment during a May 2024 appearance on Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George’P podcast with Paul George“.
“Everyone knew who he was. He was really famous. He was bigger than all of us in the gym,” Artest said. “He came into the gym, and I said, ‘Okay, great, I want to see what he’s got.
“And he’s cooking. He’s 15 or 16 years old. He posts and gets to the basket. And I’m like, ‘This is going to be a big problem.’
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Artest added that the situation left him motivated.
“It really motivated me. And when I saw that, it motivated me. And I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to go to work.’ He comes into the league and he’s cooking, and I wasn’t like that when I was 15.”
James is a four-time NBA champion, a four-time league MVP, and a 20-time NBA All-Star. In his 22nd season in the league, he remains one of the best players in the NBA and is averaging 23.7 points per game this season.
The Lakers were idle on Wednesday night and will return to action on Thursday night when they host the Miami Heat.
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