Most aspiring basketball stars look up to certain superstars growing up. Even LeBron James, a star player who has collected an immense amount of accolades, has named a specific player as his inspiration. In the recent episode of his show, “Mind the Game,” with NBA legend Steve Nash, James mentioned which past superstar was his inspiration growing up.
Nowadays, younger players mention James as the player they look up to. Given his longevity, greatness and achievements, aspiring athletes view him as their inspiration. In his career, James has earned four MVP awards, four NBA championships, 21 All-Star selections and 21 All-NBA nods.
James, on the other hand, used to look up to someone who was as accomplished. The 6-foot-9 forward mentioned the former Chicago Bulls star and six-time NBA champion, Michael Jordan.
“When you talk about inspiration, there was nobody more inspiring to me than Michael Jordan,” James said. “I think our games would’ve complimented as well. MJ was a flat-out scorer. He had a scorer’s mentality.
“But I know I can’t pick him, because I know how social media works.. You motherf**kers are gonna be like, ‘Oh, you wanna play with Michael Jordan too?’ ‘You done played with everybody else Godd**nit!’ I didn’t ask the question, I’m only answering it guys.
Nobody was a bigger inspiration to @KingJames than MJ.
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— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) July 14, 2025
Aside from Jordan, LeBron James also mentioned other star players whom he looked up to. He even mentioned MJ’s co-star with the Bulls, Scottie Pippen.
“But MJ was an inspiration, Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway was an inspiration to me. Grant Hill was an inspiration to me growing up… Scottie Pippen, that point-forward guys like Penny, like Grant Hill, Like Scottie. Those guys kind of inspired me because I kind of wanted to be that point-forward.”
LeBron James often gets compared to Michael Jordan
For most of his career, LeBron James has often been compared to Jordan. Fans, experts and critics debate about which player is better. Even their individual and team accolades have been compared to each other.
Over the weekend, NBA analyst Skip Bayless even brought up the topic of James playing golf. During Jordan’s playing days in the league, it was a known fact that he enjoyed playing golf when not on the basketball court. Bayless, who’s mostly known for his criticism of the Los Angeles Lakers, compared their golf careers.
“Naturally, LeBron’s trying to go [Michael] Jordan,” Bayless said. “Naturally, LeBron’s trying to go [Michael] Jordan,”
“LeBron, I got news for you, pal. Golf is the hardest game to play in the world, and nothing else is close to golf. Nothing,” he added.
However, LeBron James tends to ignore the criticism he gets, especially from Bayless.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
