Mastodon
@National Basketball Association

A reminder of the unprecedented expectations LeBron James faced: This is the introduction ESPN aired prior to his nationally televised high school game against No. 1 Oak Hill in 2002.



A reminder of the unprecedented expectations LeBron James faced: This is the introduction ESPN aired prior to his nationally televised high school game against No. 1 Oak Hill in 2002.

by DarrowViBritannia

27 Comments

  1. TrumpedBigly

    LeBron had more hype than any player in history and somehow exceeded it. I had never seen anything like him at 17 and now I’ve never seen anything like him at 39.

    I always hate the “We’ll never seen someone like him again”, but if we do it will be a long time.

  2. Pretty crazy that theyā€™re showing GOAT level players and included Kobe already in 2002 when he was only 23.

  3. Shootit_Rockets

    Man, as much as I have rooted against LeBron James over the years his ā€˜Last Danceā€™ style documentary is going to hit

    I really hope he takes time to drop it though.

  4. fartingpinetree

    Why is it I feel like the only one that went by one name there was Shaq. And thatā€™s because he has so many syllables in his name. To do Michael for Michael jordan was weird. Also trying to pass Larry bird off as Larry. All of that for someone that would be known as Lebron James.

  5. mickeyj623

    He had crazy expectations set on him super early and he exceeded them all. Truly an amazing career.

  6. k1ngkoala

    Lmao this sounds like the prologue to an epic fantasy novel. ESPN (and the NBA) really struck gold with LeBron.

  7. KcoolClap

    Unprecedented expectations, and exceeded them all. Nothing like Lebron has happened in the history of sports.

  8. Shaqtacious

    Over shadowed the expectations instead of getting over shadowed by them.

  9. IndycarFan64

    Since this, Idek if Zion or Victor got that ā€œknown by single nameā€ level of hype

  10. DancesWithDave

    I saw his last high school game in person and felt like he was undersold. During the warmup layup lines he put his headband over his eyes.

  11. RedditAccount_317

    Imagine telling someone watching that live that this kid would score 40K points plus in his career

  12. MuletownSoul

    One of the few times where the hype was both matched and surpassed.

  13. ChiefRicimer

    That Oak Hill broadcast has to be one of the most noteworthy high school basketball games in history. You just knew LeBron was destined for a HOF career when he dominated the no.1 team in the country.

  14. Holiday-Rip-1969

    LeBron is the only athlete besides Colin Kaepernick that gets any attention from Fox News regularly over the last two decades. That says a lot about his cultural impact (and where a lot of his haters come from)

  15. MusicianExtension536

    Crazy we got to see lebron and Brady both have unprecedented runs at the top of their game at the same time

  16. retrospects

    The fact that he not only lived up to those expectations but blew past them is insane. LeBron is a year older than me and I remember all the hoopla around him on tv and Iā€™m thinking god my parents just want me to graduate and this dudeā€¦

  17. iCE_P0W3R

    I don’t think there was a player as hyped as Lebron since Kareem, and he somehow surpassed even him. Legend.

  18. D-MAN-FLORIDA

    Imagine if Lebron wasnā€™t able to live up to the hype?

  19. Crypticdeath

    I remember they did something similar with Sebastian Telfair like a year or two later and teenage me thought he was gonna be the next Lebron.

  20. DankTriangle

    ESPN really laying it on thick with the hyperbole, yet it wasn’t even wrong šŸ’€

  21. the expectation is so high for LBJ during that time and what’s great is that he exceeded those expectations…

  22. Tiny-Instruction1987

    Crazy how that intro looks perfectly normal now.

Write A Comment