Walter Iooss, Jr./Sports Illustrated

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. The three-year, $10.8 million rookie contract he's getting from the Cavaliers is Monopoly money to [LeBron] James, who has endorsement deals worth more than $100 million. "I've been around the game for 40 years," says Cavs coach Paul Silas, "and I've never seen anything like it. It's scary." FULL STORY

--From "You Gotta Carry That Weight" by Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2003