LeBron James has made a remarkable evolution since joining the league in 2003. By the time it was Draft night, King James was already a superstar that the entire country was aware of. He took the NBA by storm right away. Currently, LeBron is in his 20th season in the league, the most for any active player in the current era. It speaks at length about his longevity.
Recently, Jabari Smith Jr. and the Houston Rockets played against LeBron’s Los Angeles Lakers. Before the game kicked off, Jabari shared a few words with the 4x NBA champ. He said, “You played against my dad, your first NBA game ever.” James’ reaction was priceless, to say the least. Surprised, he asked, “Really? Why you do that to me?” Jabari mentioned that it was against Sacramento back then.
“You played against my dad your first NBA game ever.” 🤯
LeBron and Jabari Smith Jr. pregame tonight pic.twitter.com/4YXlGunZi5
— NBA (@NBA) January 17, 2023
The Rockets youngster continued to ask, “You feel old, don’t you?” The Lakers took the win on the night after James put in a shift with 48 points on the board.
When did LeBron James play his first NBA game?
The Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Sacramento Kings on October 29, 2003, when LeBron made his NBA debut. It was quite surprising that he started the game for the Cavs, and went to play a huge chunk of it. In over 42 minutes, LeBron made 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. He proved his critics wrong right with his first-ever NBA game.
Despite his immense contribution, the Kings took the win on the night. Predrag Stojaković, Mike Bibby, and Vlade Divac put up 22, 19, and 18 respectively. James would have wanted his team to win on the night, knowing his mentality.
An interesting fact about this matchup was that Jabari Smith Jr.’s dad did not feature in that game. Smith was on the Kings roster after moving back to Sacramento from Spain, where he played for CB Granada. He did not play in a game for the Kings that season, but watching King James rattle his opponents stuck with him for so long that he shared the experience with his son.
James has been remarkable throughout his NBA career, winning 4 titles in the process. He still looks to be going strong, even at 38 years old. Right now, he is getting closer to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. If he continues to average 29.7 points like right now, The King will break that record in no time.