LeBron was incredible back in high school. ESPN once ranked LBJ as the 3rd best high school athlete ever after Jim Ryun and Tiger Woods - so since Ryun and Woods are track and golf, that means they think he was the best high school athlete ever for any organized team sport. Kareem was 4th after James.
Here are some quotes from back then that I've collected:
Sonny Vaccaro, the Adidas rep who signed the first shoe deals with Jordan (for Nike), Bryant and McGrady:
At this age LeBron is better than anybody I've seen in 37 years in this business, including Kevin [Garnett] and Kobe [Bryant] and Tracy.
Sports Illustrated, February 18, 2002:
Ohio high school junior LeBron James is so good that he's already being mentioned as the heir to Air Jordan.
Eastern Conference general manager:
I'm very careful about dishing out too much praise for these young kids coming out of school, because I know it's going to be an adjustment no matter how good they are. But this kid looks like he could come in and play right away without missing a beat. LeBron is a phenomenal talent, probably the best I've ever seen coming out of high school.
Western Conference scouting director:
Basketball-wise he's the best high school player I've ever seen. He has a very rare combination of skills but also charisma off the court. He's so mature beyond his age. He handles all this attention amazingly well. Of course he's also just a super athlete, handles the ball like a point guard, makes decisions in the open floor. And he's playing on a team with basically nobody -- there's really only one other guy on his team who has a shot at a Division I scholarship.
I saw his game last year with Oak Hill and he went toe-to-toe with Carmelo Anthony, who most people will tell you is another great player. The scoring was pretty much a wash (Anthony scored 34 points, James 36) but Carmelo had help. LeBron was all over the map. He made everybody on his team better.
Western Conference general manager:
The hype is pretty justified.
Germantown (Pa.) Academy coach Jim Fenerty, who watched LeBron pile up 38 points and 17 rebounds in a 70-64 defeat of his Patriots:
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.
ESPN The Magazine, 2002:
Not since Lew Alcindor has a high school senior been hoisted this high over the bean stalk, and there's an entire basketball public tripping all over itself in anticipation. Michael calls him "Young Buck." Shaq is proud to say, "I'm in his Rolodex." And Cleveland coach John Lucas has said, "Gotta have him, gotta have him."
Jack McCallum, 2003:
NBA officials will tell you that we've seen this before, a phenom receiving big bucks, arriving amid much fanfare. But they're kidding themselves and they know it. No one has gotten this much this soon, no one has ever entered any league under so much scrutiny.
Carlos Boozer:
You can only call it court sense. The way he takes advantage of a situation right away can't be taught. He just has it.
Anonymous NBA scout:
The most surprising thing is that a guy who could dominate offensively is so unselfish. Most of these young guys don't know how to play, but he looks to make the pass first, and he's great at it.
ESPN The Magazine, 2002:
He could win the NBA dunk contest right now, but it's his basketball IQ, his feel for the game, that has league cellar dwellers thinking savior. Scouts like that he's a people person, and predict he'll make a better teammate than Kobe. They say he'll be a distributor as a rookie, a go-to guy by Year 2 and on a Wheaties box by Year 3.
John Lucas:
I kept hearing he was better than Kobe. So I went to see him play at an AAU tournament and stayed 11 hours. Stayed 11 hours looking for a weakness.