Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James revealed a story of a pickup game he played against former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan where he was “unguardable.” James told the story of his experience during his guest appearance on Wednesday’s “New Heights,” hosted by NFL brothers Jason and Travis Kelce.
James claims that when he played the pickup game with some of the greatest NBA players, he was still a young prodigy. The eventual four-time winner stated that he was only sixteen years old.
“I was on the court with Michel Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley – all these guys,” James said.
“Nobody,” James said when Jason Kelce asked who took the defensive assignment of guarding him. “I was unguardable. I was 16. I was a high school sophomore.”
“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.”
LeBron James did not disclose the number of points he scored in a pickup game against some of the top players in the league. Because of his perseverance, he was selected first overall during his final year of high school.
LeBron James’ greatest accomplishment is playing with his son Bronny
One of the highlights of LeBron James’ 2024-25 NBA season is when he got to share the hardwood with his son, Bronny. Playing with his son has always been his ambition, and it finally came true during the season’s first game.
“For me, when it comes to the titles, that’s one separate thing. But to be able to be in this league and play in this league and also being able to do it alongside Bronny right now, that’s one of the biggest accomplishments, and probably the No. 1 accomplishment I’ve ever been able to do. To work with your son, I’ve heard it from a lot of people, not only sports but I’ve heard it in business and other walks of life that it’s the greatest thing you could ever have. And to see him everyday grinding and going through the process of trying to become who he wants to be, while I’m sitting there just watching him doing the things that he wants to do. Being able to just take it all in. It helps me get some of the minutes and hours and years back that I didn’t have with him because I was playing so much. To be able to get some of this time back now, it’s pretty special.”
Lebron James talks about playing with his son Bronny on the Los Angeles Lakers to Jason and Travis Kelce 🙏 pic.twitter.com/6sitNmVcVy
— TrendingSportsPodcast (@TrendingSportsP) January 15, 2025
The young guard is allowed to make history and play alongside LeBron James, even though he is not the same player as his father.
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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 with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
