LeBron James will celebrate his 40th birthday in December, and six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan will turn 62 next month.
Jordan played in 82 games for the Washington Wizards in the 2002-03 season, his final year in the NBA. Meanwhile, James was the top overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Although the basketball icons haven’t had a chance to play against each other in an NBA game, James reflected on a recent pickup game he played 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 and Jason Kelce that he was a 16-year-old high school basketball star when he met Jordan in Chicago for a pickup game.
“I was on the court with Michael Jordan, Antwone Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, Michael Finley, all of them,” James said during a recent appearance on the Kelce brothers. Podcast “New Heights”.
LeBron James breaks Michael Jordan’s 30-point game record with 563rd goal
As Travis prepares to face the Houston Texans in this weekend’s regional round, he ultimately asked James who was responsible for protecting him during the game.
“Nobody. I couldn’t guard,” James answered confidently.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dunks in the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA basketball playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
James admitted that he felt some nerves at first when he learned he would have the opportunity to play against one of the NBA’s greats.
“When I finally got out, I was like, ‘This is not it.’ I was with MJ and the others and I was so nervous. But I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going crazy.’ ” I thought. And I did,” James added.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers makes a 3-point shot against the Toronto Raptors during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press, via AP)
Metta Sandiford-Artest, also known as Ron Artest and Metta World Peace, last played in an NBA game in 2017, when she was 20 years old at the time of the aforementioned pick game. . He recalled his May 2024 appearance on Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George’s “Podcast P with Paul George.”
“Everyone knew who he was. He was already famous. He was bigger than all of us in the gym,” Artest said. “So, when he came to the gym, I was like, ‘Okay, cool, I want to see what he’s got.’
“And he’s cooking. He’s 15, 16 years old. He’s posting and coming up to the basket. And I thought, ‘This is going to be a big problem.’
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Artest added that the situation gave him motivation.
“He actually motivated me. When I saw that, I got motivated. I’m like, ‘I gotta go to work.'” It became. That wasn’t the case when I was 15. ”
James is a four-time NBA Champion, four-time league MVP, and a 20-time NBA All-Star. Even in his 22nd season in the league, he remains one of the best players in the NBA, averaging 23.7 points per game this season.
The Lakers were inactive Wednesday night, but will return to action Thursday night when they host the Miami Heat.
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