LeBron James had plenty to smile about despite his team's loss to Sacramento. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Go ahead. Make fun of his Hummer. Call him LeBrick. Chide the NBA for allowing its hype machine to spin madly out of control.

But say this much for Cavs rookie LeBron James: The kid so far has lived up to it.

In his long-awaited NBA debut Wednesday, James put it all on display. He swished jumpers. He set up his teammates. He defended. And he did it all before 17,000 hostile fans and a national TV audience.

Sporting a red headband and his new Nike sneakers modeled on his Hummer, the 6-foot-8 Cavs guard showed he was more than dressed for the NBA. If the pressure of the situation bothered him at all he didn't show it. The scene might have been Arco Arena, and Mike Bibby might have been defending him, but he wasn't going to freeze up like in that TV commercial.

James sank his first three shots, including a tough fadeaway baseline jumper over Brad Miller and a nifty floater off glass. He set up Ricky Davis with an alley-oop lob on one play, then reached around and stripped Kings guard Doug Christie for a steal that led to another Davis dunk moments later.

By the end of the first quarter alone, James had 12 points (on 6-of-10 shooting), two rebounds, three assists, three steals and no turnovers.

In the second quarter he didn't take a shot, content to set up his teammates. On one play he drove to his right then floated a pass back to Chris Mihm for a short hook. Later he scored on a tough left-handed runner in the lane, and set up Darius Miles for a dunk.

Oh, and did we mention that he started at point guard and had just two turnovers to go with nine assists in 42 minutes. Yes, it was only one game. But James showed once again he has the tools to be an NBA star. His presence was electric, and it sparked the Cavs all night as they battled back from an early deficit to throw a scare into the Kings.

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Earlier Wednesday, James had said that Halloween was his favorite holiday. "I'm a horror guy," he said. "I love Halloween. Hopefully there'll be some scared faces here tonight."

The nightmare for the rest of the NBA would be if James can keep hitting his jump shot like he did Wednesday. From his first field goal attempt -- a pull-up baseline 13-footer -- he hit them from several spots on the floor. "Just work harder," he says when asked how he planned to improve his oft-criticized jumper: "There's more to basketball than scoring."

James spent 15 minutes after Wednesday's shootaround practicing his jumper.

He also turned to head coach Paul Silas for advice, who noticed that James was falling back on his shot instead of going straight up. Whatever the case, it seems to be working.

The biggest concern for James ultimately might be how well the rest of the Cavs can handle LeBron Mania. As Silas knows, NBA team chemistry is a delicate thing. Even veteran teams can get caught up in personality conflicts. Just ask the Lakers.

To keep the green-eyed monster out, Silas has taken little steps. He has banned James' friends from team practices. He has asked team PR flaks not to stage separate press conferences. When he learned only No. 23 jerseys were on sale at the Cavs team store, he notified team officials to "put some of Ricky [Davis's] stuff out there."

"[But] they have handled it well. They know this is part of it. Everybody's been great. It kind of amazes me that we haven't had any problems."

James, of course, can help avoid issues by continuing to be unselfish on the court. In fact, his highlight play Wednesday night might have been when he passed up a chance to go for a crowd-pleasing dunk in the first quarter. Instead he stopped and shoveled the pass to a streaking Davis for a nasty reverse 360.

"I like to set up my teammates," James says. "I want to win."

The Cavs might not be ready yet to win a lot of games. But, judging from Wednesday night, the kid is going to be all right.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.