Found a thread about LeBron two weeks after the 2003 Draft on a random message board.

[1987_Lakers]

https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/lebron-james-reality-check.41122/


Lebron was playing against a bunch of white boys with zits on there face in highschool.What makes this man the next upcoming MJ.Mj could actually shoot and did not have to dunk on people.This kid is gonna jump from little white kids to huge NBA black men!How the hell ishe gonna dunk then.This guy is gonna probly I predict one of the biggest let downs in NBA history.Nike has to be the dumbest idiots to give this kid 90 mill of the bat!Im not a cavaliers hater though.I would love to see the cavs become a good team but I dont think this is the guy!


I cant stand the pampering this guy is getting.They are treating him like god.And this kid acts like hes god!:upset: This may sound mean and all but I hope that he fall on his face and all crumbles around him in his first year!


Ok, let's get some real info on this dude.

Lets get the basics out of the way first:

He is 6'6" not 6'8"

He's around 225 pounds

He cannot ( I repeat CANNOT ) shoot.

Can jump high, but those MCdnld/ESPN slam dunk contests where he seems to get his head up to rim level, guess what , basket was 6 inches lower.

Don't believe it's done? Check for example how much lighter WNBA ball is compared to NBA so the girls can shoot from farther out ( ahh, the tricks NBA marketing people come up with just to make their products look better). Yes, folks we are being screwed with from every possible angle.

One good thing he has going for him? Has nothing to do with him really. NBA is so pathetic ANYBODY can come in and score.

Imagine lobotomized Michael Jordan who couldn't shoot and lost an arm and a leg in a car accident and you have LeBron James.
Still, it may be enough to score in the eastern conference.

[Stanley Kobrick]

very interesting thread, fascinating hypothesis from users

[1987_Lakers]

This thread is also fun.

https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/predictions-of-the-2003-drafts-players-in-their-prime.33506/

[SATAN]

Lets just say I have my sources.

And yes, I could score a decent amount of points in the NBA if given enough minutes.

:oldlol:

[highwhey]

fast forward to know, we have an entire basketball forum propped up by lebron haters.

[Axe]

You get bashed a lot the more you get popular or successful in your career

Even this applies to long-time retired atgs

[Shooter]

https://i.postimg.cc/KjvNn2fH/Nothing-Finer.png


https://i.postimg.cc/657bgPwX/khalid_all_we_do_is_win.gif

[Kblaze8855]

Ish 18 years ago:


.bballguru
High School Varsity
Posts: 54
(7/26/02 10:58 am)
Reply lebron
harold miner material.



Get off the wagon............he's not going to be a household name, because of image already. Can a superstar just not have tattoes anymore? America wants a jordan type image not a tattoed up freak with a wack nose.



loggin23

High School Varsity Star
Posts: 88
(7/26/02 11:20 am)
Reply Re: Will Lebron James be a bust...
lebron has been so hyped up that there is really nowhere for him to go but straight or down. expectations have already been set in, and they are very very high.



playground834
NBA Starter
Posts: 598
(7/26/02 11:27 am)
Reply
Re: Will Lebron James be a bust...
Take over the league with a shoot-first mentality on a crappy team. Realises he isn't going to win championships that way after awhile, so changes his game. Basically I see him on the same par as Jerry Stackhouse.



chingchongchinaman
NBA Superstar
Posts: 1416
(7/26/02 1:47 pm)
Reply hmm
My only gripe with LEBRON is that from the dunks i have seen etc. HE is not really that athletic. NOt sure if he can do well in the pros..hope he does though.



loggin23
High School Varsity Star
Posts: 96
(7/26/02 1:49 pm)
Reply Re: hmm
compared to lebron, carter and stackhouse had more hops in high school.


playground834
NBA Starter
Posts: 620
(7/26/02 1:55 pm)
Reply
Re: hmm
Hops doesn't measure basketball ability



I B STROKING
NBA Star
Posts: 1039
(7/26/02 2:30 pm)
Reply
Re: hmm
i read the artically in slam with him and Sebastian Telfair (the highschool junior point guard that they will be jocking in 2005 when he leaves to enter the NBA and also Stephan Marbury's cousin) on the cover and he talk about living up to the hype and how people expect as good as the newspaper clippings say that u are all the time. in a AAU tournment in NY he only score 2 points and it was in the sports section the next day. never mind that fact that his team won cause nobody really care, they were too busy yelling OVERRATED!!!



JohnnySic
NBA Superstar
Posts: 1872
(7/26/02 2:39 pm)
Reply
Re: hmm
Lets just wait until he's in the league folks...Lebron James a household name? Ask the average person if they've heard of him. Only die-hard hoop fans know his name. Michael Jordan is a household name.


monthh
NBA Legend
Posts: 2956
(7/26/02 2:40 pm)
Reply Re: hmm
He is not the most athletic, but he is a much better passer, rebounder, and shooter then those guys were. He has good size and pretty good athletic abilty even if it isn't top notch. He might not be a highlight reel, but neither are Paul Pierce or Tim Duncan.


Return of God of BBALL
NBA Legend
Posts: 3116
(7/26/02 2:40 pm)
Reply
Re: hmm
Funny kid has another year of HIGH SCHOOL

Forget him not even getting drafted and lacing them up in the NBA yet. He has 1 more year left. Funny how the media can pump you up to be a GOD and in the same story tear you down to be SH!T. The power they have is amazing because the only reason he is getting this much hype if because of them. Goes for alot players but its funny to see how much influence they have on how good an athelte is thru the public.

I never seen this kid play at all. Yet media pumped him up so much its like I can front and defend him saying he will be a superstar in the NBA.



MMKM
College Hoops Star
Posts: 336
(10/26/02 9:56 pm)
Reply Re: Will Lebron James be a bust...
I think he'll be a bust. All the guys that get hyped that early never live up to their expectations. Remember Schea Cotton?


DaHeezy
College Hoops 6th man
Posts: 186
(11/1/02 5:36 pm)
Reply He ain't a bust...
But ain't no super star either...
Why can't we all just wait and see.
Member Ronnie Feilds?


Da KO King
High School Varsity Star
Posts: 80
(2/19/03 2:43 pm)
Reply Re: hmm
He will be a superstar the same way Darius Miles is a superstar. He will dunk on someone and people will say that makes him good.



TheKingOfVa
Strong playground player
Posts: 40
(9/10/03 12:00 pm)
Reply Re: lebron
he will be iight not a 30pts 6 ast 6 reb guy like Kobe and T-mac now. He will be a bust as the number 1 probably but end up to be a decent 14 pts 3 ast 7 reb Lamar Odom type guy. This is just my guess.

[Stanley Kobrick]

johnnysic has been posting since 2002? how does one users IQ degrade over time so much. everything he posts is something out of an old wives tale handbook

[NBAGOAT]

This thread is also fun.

https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/predictions-of-the-2003-drafts-players-in-their-prime.33506/

poor darko lol

[Axe]

chingchongchinaman
NBA Superstar
Posts: 1416
(7/26/02 1:47 pm)
Reply hmm
My only gripe with LEBRON is that from the dunks i have seen etc. HE is not really that athletic. NOt sure if he can do well in the pros..hope he does though.
Damn

[LoneyROY7]

JohnnySic is that old guy wagging his fist at the kids...

"Damn Liberals!"

https://media.tenor.com/images/6006221645cd35feca85d058d0345875/tenor.gif

[iamgine]

Some of those are actually quite accurate. He was quite small and couldn't shoot. But then he got big and can shoot.

[light]

https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/lebron-james-reality-check.41122/

Wait a second. A lot of that sounds exactly like the stuff Michael Jordan was saying about LeBron at the time.

I wonder if MJ had burner accounts back in 2003.

[light]

Some of those are actually quite accurate. He was quite small and couldn't shoot. But then he got big and can shoot.

None of that is actually accurate.

Here is an accurate appraisal from an opposing head coach:


"....says Germantown (Pa.) Academy coach Jim Fenerty, who watched LeBron pile up 38 points and 17 rebounds in a 70-64 defeat of his Patriots in December, 'We played Kobe when Kobe was a senior, and LeBron is the best player we've ever played against. LeBron is physically stronger as a junior than Kobe was as a senior, and we've never had anybody shoot better against us.'"

And an appraisal from Howard Garfinkel, college basketball hall of fame scout, from Five-Star Basketball Camp:


“I’ll say this; You heard all those NBA guys I mentioned? LeBron played as well or better than any one of them when they were sophomores at my camp. It was ridiculous; he totally dominated. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

In the middle of the week, we had some guys hurt in our NBA division (juniors and seniors) and we moved him up. He was playing four games a day with both the sophomores and our NBA divisions.

He made both all-star teams. Both of them, in his own division and the NBA division. In the 35 years that I’ve had this camp, that’s never happened before.

He can shoot it. He can pass off the dribble. He knows the game. He seems like a great kid. Like I said, I don’t want to say too much, but I like this kid a lot.”

LeBron was 6'6 when he was 15.

[Kblaze8855]

johnnysic has been posting since 2002? how does one users IQ degrade over time so much. everything he posts is something out of an old wives tale handbook


Im not sure what happened. Johnny was pretty normal back then. Would just argue shit like Pierce vs Tmac and Antione Walker being top 20 or whatever it was. He didnt seem political at all.

[Axe]

DaHeezy too as well

[Hey Yo]

Nike has to be the dumbest idiots to give this kid 90 mill off the bat! I'm not a cavaliers hater though


:oldlol::oldlol:

What sane NBA fan would think another NBA fan is slinging shit in 2003 because they're a Cavs hater??

Why would anyone have a reason to be a Cavs hater before James got there??

[Gotterdammerung]

The Internet.

Where strangers will drag your posts after 17 years of hindsight.

:oldlol:

[Lebron23]

Most of them passed away or are in their late 40's or early 50's.

[Spurs m8]

Well he was right...dude has been a let down and underachiever

[RRR3]

Well he was right...dude has been a let down and underachiever
If your expectations were a literally perfect player, sure. To the rest of us living in reality he was obviously a great draft pick.

[SATAN]

Well he was right...dude has been a let down and underachiever

The thread is about LeBron James, not Michael Jordan's baseball "career".

[TheGoatest]

It's crazy that he's probably the most hyped player ever, and yet he exceeded his expectations. :eek: :applause: :rockon:

[JohnMax]

Athletic freaks need a few seasons to look like superstars. Look at leap Ja Morant made in his 3rd season and Zion Williamson in his 2nd season.

[3ba11]

People don't realize that Lebron became a bust when he gave up and started hand-picking super-teams

I'll never understand how this is respected and considered meeting the expectation.

It's literally the definition of NOT meeting expectation and therefore having to stack the deck by hand-picking Year 1 preseason favorites (easiest path possible)..

He hand-picked the preseason favorite from 11-16' and 20-22', yet only 4 chips and that doesn't include another loss with a super-teams in 2017 where Nick Wright thought the Cavs would win easily (here (https://i.makeagif.com/media/7-30-2022/nfNb5D.gif))

[light]

https://www.basketballforum.com/threads/lebron-james-reality-check.41122/

All from MJ and Kobe burner accounts.

[Full Court]

"Lebron was playing against a bunch of white boys with zits on there (sic) face"

:lol Sounds like the Wilt detractors today.

"Bu-bu-bu-but he played against a bunch of white plumbers!" :lebroncry:

[Kblaze8855]

Well he was right...dude has been a let down and underachiever


Nobody ever has been or will be a great enough prospect that ending up with 4 rings, 4 finals mvp, four mvps, the all time scoring leader and like 15-18 all nba teams will have been a letdown. Literally 100% of people who would say they thought his career would be this good would be shown to be lying if you could find their opinion from when he was 17. The people saying he’d be an all timer couldn’t predict a career like that.

Nobody has ever been expected to have a career like that outside Kareem and Wilt who had the unrealistic “Hes better than anyone…ever” labels before even playing. And even they wouldn’t be considered letdowns if they had his.

His career had been too great for anyone being honest to say they expected.

[Full Court]

If your expectations were a literally perfect player, sure. To the rest of us living in reality he was obviously a great draft pick.

My expectations were merely based on what he told me.

"Not five, not six, not seven......"

:confusedshrug:

[JohnnySic]

Glad I dont frequent the NBA forum much anymore and missed this in 2020. :wtf: And btw, there's nothing wrong with what I said about LeBron back in 2003. Most people had never heard of him prior to him entering the league.

[RRR3]

My expectations were merely based on what he told me.

"Not five, not six, not seven......"

:confusedshrug:
He said that in 2010, we are discussing pre draft LeBron. Are you retarded?

[Full Court]

He said that in 2010, we are discussing pre draft LeBron. Are you retarded?

I withheld my expectations for him until 2010. Are you retarded?

[SATAN]

He said that in 2010, we are discussing pre draft LeBron. Are you retarded?

He's a casual.

[Full Court]

He's a casual.

And you're a whiny beezleblubber.

[RRR3]

I withheld my expectations for him until 2010. Are you retarded?
No you didn’t.

[Full Court]

No you didn’t.

You should get a sense of humor.

:lebroncry:

[HylianNightmare]

Definitely was a let down after all the hype he had

[LeGoat4Life]

High IQ prediction

Lebron was a letdown. The kid couldn't win as the alpha

Had to create superteam and play as a beta in order to win.

Alpha Dog wade, AD, and Kyrie

[bison]

Imagine lobotomized Michael Jordan who couldn't shoot and lost an arm and a leg in a car accident and you have LeBron James.
Still, it may be enough to score in the eastern conference.

The OP in that thread is a damn prophet :bowdown:

[ShawkFactory]

Glad I dont frequent the NBA forum much anymore and missed this in 2020. :wtf: And btw, there's nothing wrong with what I said about LeBron back in 2003. Most people had never heard of him prior to him entering the league.

What? :lol

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Sophomore. A few of his high school games were televised on prime time ESPN spots.

Do you just say things to intentionally be edgy or stupid?

[JohnnySic]

What? :lol

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Sophomore. A few of his high school games were televised on prime time ESPN spots.

Do you just say things to intentionally be edgy or stupid?

I mean the average person off the street had never heard of him. I'm not talking about basketball fans, or even sports fans in general. Everyone knew who Michael Jordan was; that's what "household name" means.

[ShawkFactory]

I mean the average person off the street had never heard of him. I'm not talking about basketball fans, or even sports fans in general. Everyone knew who Michael Jordan was; that's what "household name" means.

Lol no it’s not.

Household name means well known.

Jordan is one of the 2-3 most famous athletes ever. That isn’t the bar for the term you’re using.

[1987_Lakers]

Glad I dont frequent the NBA forum much anymore and missed this in 2020. :wtf: And btw, there's nothing wrong with what I said about LeBron back in 2003. Most people had never heard of him prior to him entering the league.

:oldlol:

[AirBonner]

LeBron’s face was all over espn long before he entered the league. Hell his first game was literally aired on espn. You would have to live under a rock if you didn’t hear of him