LeBron James appeared on Wednesday’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce and finally opened up about the famously mysterious pick-up game he played in with Michael Jordan as a high schooler.
James said the game happened in 2001, and he and Jordan played with NBA vets Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest and Michael Finley.
Grainy photos from the game showing James and Jordan sharing the court have surfaced on social media over the years, but video footage of the contest has never emerged.
“First of all, MJ, Antoine Walker and the rest of those guys did not let young guys get on the court at all,” James said. “I was 16 years old, I was a sophomore in high school, and it takes a while to get on the court. It’s usually when the older guys, they get tired and don’t want to play no more.
When Travis asked James who guarded him, the Los Angeles Lakers star definitively said, “Nobody, I was unguardable,” setting off an eruption of laughter from the Kelce brothers.
“I was in Chicago at MJ’s court, it was called ‘Hoops,’” James said before referencing an interview Artest had with Paul George about James’ dominance.
“When I finally got out there, I was busting ass, man,” James said. “I was nervous, I was nervous as hell being out there with MJ and the rest of those guys, but I was like, ‘I’m about to go crazy,’ and I did.”
On George’s show “Podcast P,” Artest said James was already a big deal as a young high schooler and more famous than anyone else in the gym.
“He was cooking,” Artest said. “He was posting, getting to the basket, and I was like, ‘This is going to be a huge issue.’”
Artest, who said he was 20 years old in 2001, said young James could have gone pro at that time.
Later in his podcast with the Kelces, James also addressed a viral tweet from 2015, which said, “LeBron is 30, this f—– won’t go on for much longer, thank god,” which incited another room full of laughter. James said he saw the post “throughout all of my 30s, and I laughed at it so hard every single time.”
Since his 30th birthday on Dec. 30, 2014, James has scored 17,378 more points, made 11 more All-Star teams and won two more NBA championships.
James also dished on his thoughts about a potential NFL career during the podcast (saying the only time he seriously considered it was during the 2011 NBA lockout), his football recruitment to Ohio State (saying then-coach Jim Tressell recruited him as a two-way player) and the recent viral moment of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown reading a book on the sidelines of Sunday’s wild-card game.
“I was watching the game, I can say I’ve watched the NFL for 35-plus years of my life, that’s the first time I’ve seen that,” James said. “I’ve seen guys eat Skittles like Marshawn Lynch, I’ve seen guys with the oxygen tanks, I’ve seen guys meditate, I’ve seen guys slam helmets, I’ve seen a lot of s—.
“But that’s the first time I’ve ever seen a book brought out on the bench.”
(Photo: Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)
