Like the popular William Shakespeare’s saying, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”, the story of LeBron James encapsulates the thought behind this great quote.
Coming into the NBA at the age of 18, a young James had so much expected of him, unlike any other player before him, but the now 20-year veteran continues to make a case for being the greatest player to ever ‘lace it up’ on the basketball court.
Titles with 3️⃣ different teams. 🏆
A career spanning generations. 💪
The All-Time Scoring Leader. 🙌
The Bron Legacy is unparalleled. 👏#ScoringKing #LeBronJames @KingJames pic.twitter.com/HO19wd9nDR— NBA India (@NBAIndia) February 8, 2023
‘Some are born great’
Born in Akron, Ohio, on December 30, 1984, as an only child to a teenage Gloria Marie James, he grew up in unimaginable adversity, starting with the absence of a father figure.
James was introduced to basketball at the young age of nine when his mother granted him the permission to stay with Frank Walker, a local youth coach, in a bid to provide him with a better life than she could afford at the time.
By his time in the fifth grade, he had gained critical acclaim across the United States for his exceptional basketball talent, forming a group dubbed the “Fab Four” with three of his best friends. The four young players decided to attend the same high school, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
In his first year at the school, he averaged 21 points and six rebounds, and by his sophomore year, his numbers had taken a meteoric rise to 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 steals per game.
Due to these numbers, he was named Ohio Mr. Basketball and was selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team, becoming the first high school sophomore to achieve such feats.
In James’ junior year, he became the first high school basketball underclassman to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. By his senior year, he was averaging 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game.
Despite the adversities of his early years, the young James appeared unfazed, putting up numbers that were the first of their kind and becoming the sensation of the country’s youth basketball scene.
“Some have greatness thrust upon them”
Now 18 years old, James was the talk of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as many teams jostled for the signature of the kid dubbed “The Chosen One” by the Sports Illustrated Magazine.
Many would argue that no player heading into the NBA or any other sports league had more expectations of them than LeBron James. The teenager was expected to come into a league filled with his idols and totally dominate from the beginning.
His professional journey began in 2003, when he was selected with the first overall pick by his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his first game for the Cavs, LeBron scored 25 points against the Sacramento Kings, setting the record for the most points scored by a high school draftee in his debut game in the NBA.
By the end of his rookie year, James was voted as the NBA’s Rookie of The Year and averaged 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists.
He featured in his first all-star game in his sophomore year in the NBA and also set the then-single-game record for the Cavaliers with 56 points against the Toronto Raptors in March 2005.
By 2006, just his third year in the NBA, James had established himself as a fan favourite, churning out excellent performances game after game.
At the age of 20, he won his first All-Star MVP Award and led Cleveland to their first playoff appearance since 1998, ending an eight-year drought. He ended the 2006-07 season on a high by surpassing Brad Daugherty as the Cavaliers’ all-time leading scorer, doing so in over 100 fewer games.
Furthermore, James won two Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in Cleveland, with all of the achievements being a testament to the Greatness the “Boy from Akron” would achieve across a long career.
‘Some achieve greatness’
Many fans and experts around the world were surprised when James chose to take his talent to the Magic City of Miami, where he formed an all-star trio with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Although he was slandered on many platforms and received numerous threats, the now 25-year-old was no stranger to the adversities of life, and this was just another layer in the many more to come.
In his first year in South Beach, James led the Heat to the NBA Finals, where they were defeated by a Dirk Nowitzki-inspired Dallas Mavericks.
Rather than being flustered by the criticism he was receiving at the time, he teamed up with Hall of Famer Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon the following year to work on his scoring, and he instantly started reaping the benefits.
He won his first Championship, his first Finals MVP, and his third MVP Award, signalling the beginning of his immortality. The following year, James led the Heat to back-to-back Championships, winning the Finals MVP for the second time in his career.
Although they failed to carry out a three-peat after losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, his chapter with the Heat, albeit short, was unforgettable as the kid who was once dubbed the “Chosen One” was now a force to be reckoned with.
James returned to where it all began, Cleveland, with the sole purpose of winning the city’s first-ever sports title. He was unable to achieve this in his first year back, but his defiant personality was evident as the Cavaliers made the impossible possible when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals, becoming the only team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit.
We did it, Cleveland. #NBAChampions | #OneForTheLand pic.twitter.com/7Hndm6YaB1
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 20, 2016
Now, he had risen to the top of the food chain, a long way from where it all began, with his third title and third Finals MVP. The Ohio native finally brought a championship back home, and he also became the first player in league history to lead both teams in all five statistical categories for a Playoff Round.
Continuing his sojourn, he moved to the City of Angels to join the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent. A year later, amid a major pandemic that dealt the world a serious blow, James won his fourth title, his fourth Finals MVP, and the Lakers’ 17th title, tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most in the NBA.
Although there have been struggles with injuries and a lack of a favourable roaster to take the Lakers back to the Finals, his unquestionable dominance for over a decade is nothing short of inspiring.
LeBron James, four-time NBA champion 🏆👑
All hail the King. pic.twitter.com/V15dRf9IuT
— ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2020
“The King”
In 2018, while with the Lakers, he surpassed Nowitzki for the fifth-most points scored in the NBA in a game against the Spurs.
In 2019, he moved past his idol and arguably the greatest basketball player ever, Michael Jordan, into fourth place on the scoring chart.
The following year, James did not look back as he bypassed the late Kobe Bryant on the chart, moving into third place. His meteoric ascendance had many doubting if the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s seemingly untouchable record would still remain unattainable.
Although the Lakers lost to the Washington Wizards in a game in March 2022, James surged past Karl Malone to become the player with the second-most points in the NBA.
On Tuesday, February 8, LeBron Raymone James rose to the highest echelon in the NBA as he broke the 39-year Record held by Abdul-Jabbar in a game that was played in front of a packed crowd that also had the 75-year-old Hall of Famer in attendance.
After 39 years, the NBA has a new #ScoringKing
Salute, @kingjames. pic.twitter.com/NSJqD1kobN
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 8, 2023
With 38,390 points, the teenager who entered the grown men’s den in 2003, has now fulfilled his destiny by surmounting the hardest obstacle as he stands on the Mount Rushmore of basketball as one of the greats.
Now in year 20 at the age of 38, James has delivered way beyond expectations, leading his hometown of Akron, Ohio, to declare February 8 as “LeBron James Day”.
The only player in NBA history to have at least 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists, he [James] was selected as a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team as a reward for his inestimable eminence, and he is undoubtedly a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Some LeBron James’ Career Achievements
4× NBA champion
4× NBA Finals MVP
4x NBA Most Valuable Player
NBA Rookie of the Year
NBA scoring champion
3× NBA All-Star Game MVP
19× NBA All-Star
13x All-NBA First Team
3x All-NBA Second Team
2x All-NBA Third Team
5x NBA All-Defensive First Team
2x Olympic Gold Medallist
Olympic Bronze Medallist
