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By Gordon Simpson

With the tip-off to a brand new NBA season upon us, the hype surrounding the competitive professional debut of LeBron James continues to grow, yet despite the obvious talent possessed by the young man there is no reason to heap the expectations of the fans, the media, his sponsors and the whole of the NBA on his shoulders from day one. We all want to see James unlock his potential and fulfill it to the absolute maximum, but if we are not going to jeopardize it then we must remember one word - patience.

James has been called the greatest high school player ever by many people who have been around the game of basketball a lot longer than myself, but I do not believe that we can forget the fact that he has just left high school. He's built like a man, but he's still a kid. Bypassing college is certainly no reason to doubt the eventual level that James will play at, but like all those who have made the move straight from high school to the NBA, it will probably take three years or so for James to fully establish himself. The jump from facing high school players to NBA players would be a shock to anyone's system and it will be no different for James. There will undoubtedly be flashes of brilliance in the early part of the career of LeBron James, but consistent magical performances will take time and work. James will certainly do the work and for everyone's sake let us hope he is given the time.

The current pre-season stats of James have been solid, averaging 11.6 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 4.9 assists per game and should he average this over the course of the regular season, Cleveland should be delighted. They should view the first three years of James' career as purely a progressive stage in which they can build him up to become the cornerstone upon which they build their franchise, but to place that sort of pressure upon him now would be unfair to James and would also be a grave mistake as confidence is so precious in this sort of a situation.

The excitement will continue to build in the coming days, weeks and months, but do not forget that the extent of Lebron James' true ability may not reveal itself for years. We've already seen that he's extremely talented. Flashes of brilliance in the regular season will soon be upon us. As for true greatness, if the basketball world is patient for a few years then we can all really start getting excited for one of the potentially best ever is at the NBA's doorstep.

Gordon Simpson is an up-and-coming writer from the UK.