What made LeBron such a “can’t-miss” prospect in high school?

[KyRo23]

As dumb as Mike is in terms of talent scouting. Even he'd tell you he wasn't close to Lebron.

Sure man... Sure...

Wow, insane gifs. I can find clips of LeBron this year that rival those

Didn't take long for a LeBron thread to turn into an insecure Jordan fan thread. Clockwork baby

[NZB2323]

Skilled and athletic. He had the body of Karl Malone and could pass like a point guard. He broke all of Magic’s high school records.

Tyrus Thomas was athletic but didn’t really have any skills. Ricky Rubio had passing skills but wasn’t super athletic.

[og15]

Watch the full game vs Oak Hill Academy and what Dickie V says about him as a prospect.

Watch on YouTube

;pp=ygUcbGVicm9uIGhpZ2ggc2Nob29sIGZ1bGwgZ2FtZQ%3D%3D

You can listen to Jay Bilas at 7:23 even

[LuckyGreen7]

Wonder if anyone predicted back then that he'd still be a top ten player in the world at 40.

[Himothy Duncan]

God-level athleticism, playmaking, and IQ. The Chosen One baby.

[HotelVitale]

He was a genetic freak. It's the same reason Shaq was the unanimous 1st pick.

Not comparing Lebron to Shaq in terms of skills or feel for the game. But all you needed was one look at the once in a generation physical tools to know they were can't miss.

Depending on what you mean by 'genetic freak' here, this could be exactly wrong. Lebron had unquestioned top shelf athleticism but his hype and can't-miss status was far more about his feel and control of the game than just his pure run-jump-body-you athleticism.

If you're including feel and IQ in the genetic part, then you're kinda including everything that goes into every great NBA player.

[D.Brasco]

Wonder if anyone predicted back then that he'd still be a top ten player in the world at 40.

Nobody, in fact this was the sentiment of a lot haters just a decade back lol

Read on Twitter

[dhsilv2]

No one was "adding size" back then. MJ was one of the first to do it. He was getting beat up by the Pistons. It wasn't so much to maximize anything. He was already dunking over everyone before he did that.

I'm well aware that weight training was not as common and gear use was just starting as well. Doesn't change that as a prospect...I mean we don't even need go further than MJ wasn't even the first pick. He wasn't on Lebron's level as an athletic prospect.

LeBron wouldn't of been the 1st pick of 1984. It was a different NBA. Centers ruled the NBA.

He 100% would have been the first pick then.

[dhsilv2]

As dumb as Mike is in terms of talent scouting. Even he'd tell you he wasn't close to Lebron.

Sure man... Sure...

The best part of this failure is that you picked images from Jordan in the NBA to discuss Jordan as a prospect. And I'd bet it never even crossed your mind how bad faith such an attempt would look.

[The KnicksFix]

I'm well aware that weight training was not as common and gear use was just starting as well. Doesn't change that as a prospect...I mean we don't even need go further than MJ wasn't even the first pick. He wasn't on Lebron's level as an athletic prospect.

LeBron wouldn't of been the 1st pick of 1984. It was a different NBA. Centers ruled the NBA.

He 100% would have been the first pick then.

Over MJ, Barkley, and Hakeem? Stop it
You must not have understood the league back then

[dhsilv2]

LeBron wouldn't of been the 1st pick of 1984. It was a different NBA. Centers ruled the NBA.

He 100% would have been the first pick then.

Over MJ, Barkley, and Hakeem? Stop it
You must not have understood the league back then

You're clearly not understanding how athletic Lebron is/was coming in. And since we're talking "the league back then", leborn would have played college ball for 2 years. A 6'8 250 pound Lebron is going first.

It's amazing here we are with Lebron at 40 and people are still not grasping just how much of a unicorn his genetics are. Not to mention at the time the two best players were Magic and Bird.

The comp would be something like Magic if he had wilt's strength if people were writing about Lebron in the mid 80's.

[Pelly24]

Extreme athleticism with a heavy frame. A 6' 8" kid who weighed 250+ and could move like that, was a natural passer was destined to be an extremely tough player to defend in the NBA, and even though he couldn't shoot at first that was much less of a sticking point in 2003. It was similar to the hype around Zion before people realized how hard a time he has putting down the fork

And honestly the thing about LeBron being able to shoot, he was able to hit midrange jumpers, fadeaways and floaters right away. That was like a prerequisite for wings bacak in those days, wasn't all of this only free throws and three pointers stuff. He had a mid-2000s scoring package so it was clear he was going to be a bucket.

As far as what OP is saying, i was only 11 when LeBron came in the league, but i think it comes down to a combo of unprecedented skill and athleticism and feel for the game like an MJ. Mj and LeBron basically lead all advanced stats ever, and it's no coincidence that they basically had perfect bball IQ, perfect athleticism, skills and physiques. LeBron wasn't just fast and strong and bouncy and big; there were people that were probably all those things. But LeBron also had elite movement skills and functional athleticism that was clear from his freshman year. He never looked awkward like an Andrew Wiggins; he was extremely graceful for anyone, let alone someone his size. He could be running full speed down court, stop very suddenly and gather himself and adjust his shoulders to finish at the basket without overunning it. I would say people like Michael Jordan and Kyrie Irving are the best movers ever when it comes to being in control of their body and maintaining perfect coordination no matter the circumstances. They are like guys running a 4.2 40 yard dash. LeBron is like a 6'5" 230-pound wide receiver running a 4.4 40 yard dash. Or, if the former 2 are 3.8 shuttle time cornerbacks, LeBron is a 4.0 shuttle time at 6'5" 230 pounds, relatively speaking. His agility and body control and stuff like that (obviously, with his genius IQ and size) are why he's been able to remain so dominant this deep into his career.

And then you throw in his shot-making package, his durability, his unprecedented stamina/motor and GOAT-level speed and bounce ... i mean ... it's just. Hard to beat. And then it was just his ability to continually exceed expectations at literally every step of the way., He could've been an NBA player by the end of his freshman year. He was cooking everyone at MJ pickup games when he was 16 years old. He went to a CAVs practice as like a junior or senior in high school and like, split a double team and did a reverse tomahawk on the whole team. The cavs were so astonished by what they'd seen, they didn't even mind the fine. He was always beating teams with better players regardless of context. He was just a perfect fusion of tangible production and upside. Literally no one has ever matched that. Maybe besides Wemby.

[elchengue20]

Everything.

Athleticism, feel for the game, size, passing, scoring, professionalism and determination, coachable

Everything was a 10/10 for a high school player

[Dick Tate]

These threads are hilarious. Jordan GOAT’rs, don’t sweat this. This ain’t about that. LeBron was can’t miss. There’s no argument against that.

[yellowknifer]

It wasn't just a willingness to pass. It was clear that he was a super gifted passer / playmaker.

He was basically super gifted at everything but shooting coming out and that wasn’t as valued and he could still shoot pretty well considering everything else. Plus you can improve on it. Touch around the basket and body control. Crazy size and athleticism. I remember the hype well. Not everyone expected him to live up to it. I think he probably has had a better career than most imagined he would honestly. He also showed off court habits that were really good. Not always the case at that age with that talent level. Many guys with good talent never make it because they don’t have that grind mindset.

[The KnicksFix]

He 100% would have been the first pick then.

Over MJ, Barkley, and Hakeem? Stop it
You must not have understood the league back then

You're clearly not understanding how athletic Lebron is/was coming in. And since we're talking "the league back then", leborn would have played college ball for 2 years. A 6'8 250 pound Lebron is going first.

It's amazing here we are with Lebron at 40 and people are still not grasping just how much of a unicorn his genetics are. Not to mention at the time the two best players were Magic and Bird.

The comp would be something like Magic if he had wilt's strength if people were writing about Lebron in the mid 80's.

That’s exactly the point, LeBron was drafted straight out of high school in 03, you’re now moving the goal post and saying “LeBron would have played college ball for 2 years”. He didn’t, he played in high school and that was it. Say we go based off of your argument, do you understand how coveted big men were? The league wasn’t what it is now. Big men were extremely coveted in the league and thats why they continually went #1 overall from Kareem, to Hakeem, the Ewing to Shaq. You’re looking at LeBron now and making comparisons, and further moving the goalpost about what LeBron is now. Sorry to break it to you, but no one cares what he is now, because the original argument by you, was that LeBron would go first overall in the 84 draft. What he looks like now at the age of 40, has no bearance on what he looked like at the draft and as a 18 or 19 year old.

An 18 year old LeBron, or even a 20 year old LeBron WAS NOT BETTER than Hakeem, Michael or Barkley in that draft. Whereas Hakeem In his sophomore and junior years at he Univ. of Houston helped the Cougars advance to consecutive NCAA championship games, and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1983. He was also named the Helms Foundation Player of the Year. That’s just Hakeem, that doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of MJ or Barkley. You don’t understand how prized of a player Hakeem was .

If you’re under the age of 35, there’s no possible way you could understand what the league was then compared to now. SEVEN out of ten first overall picks were CENTERS. We aren’t talking about comparing LeBron to Magic, or bird, because again, your original argument focused on if he would have went #1 overall in that 84 draft, and that just goes to show, back then you always took size first. Why do you think Bowie was drafted over Jordan? The team had Clyde already, they didn’t want another sf, of or sg. The league coveted CENTERS, which was why TWO CENTERS went first and second overall.

[FrodoBaggins]

Magic Johnson-like playmaking in a Karl Malone body with Clyde Drexler/Scottie Pippen-level athleticism.

[sashaturiaf]

Extreme athleticism with a heavy frame. A 6' 8" kid who weighed 250+ and could move like that, was a natural passer was destined to be an extremely tough player to defend in the NBA, and even though he couldn't shoot at first that was much less of a sticking point in 2003. It was similar to the hype around Zion before people realized how hard a time he has putting down the fork

And honestly the thing about LeBron being able to shoot, he was able to hit midrange jumpers, fadeaways and floaters right away. That was like a prerequisite for wings bacak in those days, wasn't all of this only free throws and three pointers stuff. He had a mid-2000s scoring package so it was clear he was going to be a bucket.

As far as what OP is saying, i was only 11 when LeBron came in the league, but i think it comes down to a combo of unprecedented skill and athleticism and feel for the game like an MJ. Mj and LeBron basically lead all advanced stats ever, and it's no coincidence that they basically had perfect bball IQ, perfect athleticism, skills and physiques. LeBron wasn't just fast and strong and bouncy and big; there were people that were probably all those things. But LeBron also had elite movement skills and functional athleticism that was clear from his freshman year. He never looked awkward like an Andrew Wiggins; he was extremely graceful for anyone, let alone someone his size. He could be running full speed down court, stop very suddenly and gather himself and adjust his shoulders to finish at the basket without overunning it. I would say people like Michael Jordan and Kyrie Irving are the best movers ever when it comes to being in control of their body and maintaining perfect coordination no matter the circumstances. They are like guys running a 4.2 40 yard dash. LeBron is like a 6'5" 230-pound wide receiver running a 4.4 40 yard dash. Or, if the former 2 are 3.8 shuttle time cornerbacks, LeBron is a 4.0 shuttle time at 6'5" 230 pounds, relatively speaking. His agility and body control and stuff like that (obviously, with his genius IQ and size) are why he's been able to remain so dominant this deep into his career.

And then you throw in his shot-making package, his durability, his unprecedented stamina/motor and GOAT-level speed and bounce ... i mean ... it's just. Hard to beat. And then it was just his ability to continually exceed expectations at literally every step of the way., He could've been an NBA player by the end of his freshman year. He was cooking everyone at MJ pickup games when he was 16 years old. He went to a CAVs practice as like a junior or senior in high school and like, split a double team and did a reverse tomahawk on the whole team. The cavs were so astonished by what they'd seen, they didn't even mind the fine. He was always beating teams with better players regardless of context. He was just a perfect fusion of tangible production and upside. Literally no one has ever matched that. Maybe besides Wemby.

This mystical being you're talking about sounds amazing. But it's definitely not the guy with only 4 rings despite team hopping multiple times in his prime and playing alongside the most talent out of any player ever.

[jbsays]

I don't think anyone thought he would be as good as he turned out. I remember at the time some saying Carmelo might be better because he was only one year older and coming off an insane run as a freshman at Syracuse. Nothing is ever guaranteed with any pick. Hell look at same draft where Darko went 2nd right after Lebron. Slam magazine had Lebron and Sebastian Telfair on same cover. Both of those guys came right out of high school and Telfair had a solid career, but never made an Allstar game.

I mean, maybe not the durability, but the expectations were for him to pick the mantle from MJ in a way Kobe never managed to.

Yeah... I'm just saying there have been others who were hyped to be all time greats and it didn't work out.

[ChiTownHero1992]

Pretty sure it was 90% body....after that sure he had great skills but he had a grown mans NBA body at 16 and that is far above any HSer I've ever seen therefore that was the easy choice to take.