I was fortunate enough to attend this game as an 13 year old kid and remember being happy for Lebron and even more happy the kings got the W. It was the perfect combo to make for a great memory! Damn, this makes me feel old. There was nothing like acro arena even tho the energy wasn’t quite the same after 2002, I’ll never forget that we all got behind the kid. Though we still had a lot of pain as fans, there was something special in the air that night. This was the last real special memory of Arco I have. Thanks dad for making it happen. Shows that those little things you do for your kid live forever.
I was there as well, I was 17, just a little younger than LeBron, which was crazy to me. Got there early to watch him warm up. When you used to be able to go right down to the court. He definitely passed the eye test right away! I’ll never forget that game. Was definitely glad the Kings got the W! A lifetime memory, indeed!
just imagining the jump from varsity/aau ball to NBA, going from playing skinny high school kids to battling hardened NBA vets like Doug Christie and Mike Bibby, its crazy. Lebron truly is one of a kind.
+eon boi if u dont hop off this mans nuts. Hes not even fucking close to the greatest, He's not a winner, he had to compose the first nba super team with 3 superstars and still couldnt get it done his first year, disgusting. He almost failed again in 2013 but Ray Allen saved his legacy. Then he goes to Cleveland with 3 other superstars, I mean this is complete garbage its not even fair, why is the nba allowing 3 superstars on the same team, they didnt even allow Kobe cp3 just to compete with this dudes super teams. The funny thing is he went to Cleveland made a new super team and is now not gonna get by the second round, the Heat will run over them, because Dwade is an actual leader and doesnt act like a little bitch and sneak diss on twitter to call out his teammates, this guy is far from great, hes just a good player he dont know how to win games and hes not a leader of his teammates.
I tried to JIMout but fail yeah but he played at point guard he’s played point guard before you can play other positions if the coach wants you to. The small forward is just his main position
they are rebuilding the stadium and LeBron just played the last game in it so LeBron played his first ever game in this stadium and the last ever game in it so they're showing his rookie game to honor him and the stadium
Facing the Sacramento Kings in his first NBA game, LeBron James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shooting 60% from the field. After recording a season-high 41 points against the New Jersey Nets, James became the youngest player in league history to score 40 points in a game. He averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season, and was named Rookie of the Year; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award. He joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only three players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season.
I'm not even a LeBron fan but this first game of his, after all the insane hype, will get recognized more and more as time goes by, especially after his retirement, for what an incredible accomplishment it was..........lesser players would have crumbled under that pressure but he goes out and drops 25/6/9/4 on 60% shooting AS AN 18 YEAR OLD KID in his first ever NBA game. Really unbelievable.
inefekt69 Micheal Jordan First Game 16 points on 5/16 7 assist 6 rebounds 4 steals 5 Turnovers < LeBron First Game 25 points on 12/20 9 assist 6 rebounds 4 steals 2 Turnovers
Outer space, what do you call high schoolers then? Just because they are classified as an adult in a court of law doesn't make them an adult. He was still in high school when he was 18. He got drafted three weeks, assuming they ended the first week of June, after graduating high school. Did he magically turn to an adult the instant he graduated? You're still a kid if you're in high school, even if the law says you're an adult. I've seen court cases where 14 year olds are being tried as an adult. Just because the law says you're adult, doesn't make you an adult.
This brothers a beast from day 1 his 13 years now every time he steps on that court he's the best player every night. This brother is a model of consistency
2:28 is honestly the most impressive play of his debut. I don't see many other 18 year old's making this play in their first NBA game, especially after he just got a break away dunk like last possession.
2:07. This sequence sums it up. LeBron gets his first dunk. The SK point guard was trying to show him up on the next possession with a ricky dribble. Lebron poked it away. THEN... instead of dunking it himself ( to retaliate, rub it in), he passes it to his teammate for the dunk. I watched this live. It told me all I needed to know about LeBron.
Pretty sure LeBron is one of the most talented players to ever play the game. I mean look at him, his body is already nba-prepared, and stronger than some of the players back then. Scored 25 in 1st game (How many rookies will be confident to shoot so many and score at the same time, you must be really good), 9 asts with exceptional court vision (It's sth you cant be taught basically). Thats why he's "The Chosen ONE".
+Jim Reaper Yeah averaging 35.8 points per game in the finals in addition to 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists....what a choker. First player in NBA history to lead both teams in all three of those statistics.
2:28 is what I liked the most. One part of his game we often don't talk a lot is how selfless he is. He always wants to get everybody envolved, it has always been a part of his game, I'm glad we have a player of his calliber with that mentality. My childhood idol, for sure.
That's exactly what was talked about when Lebron arrived in the league because that's how he played the game. Same as Ben Simmons but unfortunately he didn't improve his game. Unfortunately in today's league everything is about scoring
Even though I've rooted against him sometimes and not always liked his decisions. I've never taken for granted being able to watch him and just how great he is. I really don't think I'll see another player as good as him in my lifetime.
i Wikipedia'd lebron the other day and looked at all his accolades . this dude has a very legitimate claim as the best basketball player EVER . he received awards as the best in his entire time playing ball from a child . he never had to get better he was always the " better " his whole time playing ball .a
Yep a case can be made of him as the goat. Easily top 3-4 all time. Hard cuz the other players were different positions, eras, play styles. Mj, kareem, lebron. Then u got Kobe, shaq, wilt, hakeem, bird, magic etc
@@ace-x6m There's no kobe without shaq. 2004 lakers lost 4-1 to Detroit pistons. Shaq had the best stats for the lakers all 3 finals. 2007 Lebron defeats Detroit piston 4-2 in conference finals. Lebron scored 25 out of the last cavs points to force pistons into double ot and cavs won. Being called the choosen one has a better ring into practicing 1000 shots a day just for a 7'0 man partying and outperforming you in the finals.
Decided to come back and see Lebrons first bucket after breaking the record. For some reason I always remembered he dropped 25 his first game. I was in eighth grade when this happened, I’m 33 in a month now. Wild. And for the record I was a Lebron hater from the beginning as I was a melo fan and than when that became no debate I rode with Kobe lol. It’s impressive what he’s done.
+Tim Go That last shot from Lebron personifies the Kings this year (and last year, and the year before, and the year before, and the year before...sigh)
+8kings23 I think the reason why I said this year's kings is because of the me first attitude of this team. No defense. No effort. But hey, we get to pad stats!
Anyone notice how his first dunk of his career made their team have 23 points? Coincidence? I think not (2x3=6, 6 was his number in Miami. He won 2 rings wearing #6 and 6/2=3. There are 3 sides on a triangle, which means that Lebron is part of the illuminati!)
Every time i feel the need to talk shit about LeBrons greatness I watch videos like these of his rookie year. This dude was great well beyond his years.
I remember this day. I am the same age as Lebron. I started college at UC Davis as a freshman when he started his first game. I even remember the Nike commercial too. It's amazing that he's still playing and at the top of this game 17 years later. I really wanna see him break 2 decade mark.... which is only a couple of years shy of the Kings making any playoffs.
Jade Chisholm I understand that, but lonzo is still young and has a lot of time to improve. His potential is pretty good and he showed a lot of improvement throughout the season. His scoring needs improvement, but the rest of his game is pretty good. The Lakers knew that going into drafting him, but all fans want to see is scoring and will label him a bust because he hadn’t excelled at that. Basketball isn’t just about scoring. His dad also hyped him up to be a lot better than he actually was, and a lot of fans had higher expectations because of that, which is foolish. The Lakers knew what they were getting out of him.
18 year old man child.... against a very good sac kings team he did great displaying his all around skills and intelligence. I liked him better during these years instead of now but he is top 3 all time
I was 1 month and 7 days old when he played this game. I guess that’s a reason why Lebron is a big inspiration to me. His career started basically at the same time my life started. Both of our journeys were intertwined.
you can tell from the first game he played that it was gonna be 50/50 as far as love/hate...so many people resented him for how hyped he was coming into the nba and some for that reason never became fans
Is it a coincidence that Lebron and Micheal Jordan ( two best NBA players that made history) both have the same number (23) And also that Lebron’s first dunk of the NBA made his team score 23. 🤨 BTW I’m a big fan of Lebron
I believe it was the best debut game in sports history just that steal and then beautiful feed to good ol Ricky Davis one of my favorite nba plays ever.. Ricky Davis was one of my favorite players as well from back in the day in my childhood I remember when the wolves traded for him that one year they had jerseys on the concourse level that were being printed right in front of you if you wanted his jersey that night & my mom got me one still got it like 20 years later too
