Ahead of His Class

LeBron James has all the makings of superstardom

LeBron James is The Chosen One on the cover of the Feb. 18 issue of Sports Illustrated. The 17-year-old junior, who plays for St.Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, has the basketball world salivating over his potential. CNNSI.com spoke with senior writer Grant Wahl, who penned the story for the magazine, to get some more insights about the wunderkind, who, were he eligible for the NBA draft now, would be a top 5 pick:

James is averaging 29.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists for St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio. Lou Capozzola

CNNSI.com: In the story, you describe a meeting between LeBron James and Michael Jordan. What can you tell us about their relationship?

Grant Wahl: They got together last summer because James was the only high schooler invited to play in Jordan's top-secret workouts when he was trying to figure out if he wanted to make a comeback. That should tell you how well the kid is regarded. It was interesting, to me, to see how comfortable they were around each other in Cleveland, where they met for my story. James didn't seem in awe of Jordan.

CNNSI.com: Did Jordan comment on James' abilities?

Wahl: He has in the past, saying James is a very talented player who has a lot to learn. I think the kind of seriousness with which Jordan pays attention to James is indicative of a lot. Getting an audience with Jordan is a very difficult thing and Jordan's only reason for coming out that night was to talk to James.

CNNSI.com: James has met Jordan, other NBA stars, rapper Jay-Z -- how does he handle that at such a young age?

Wahl: He really takes all this in stride. It's pretty remarkable. He did tell me that the very first time he met Jordan, yeah, he called his friends and told them, "I just met Michael Jordan," and they said, "No way, for real?" So there's something of that going on as well. But James handles himself very well around people. And here's what else is important: I know there are going to be people who think putting a 17-year-old high school junior on the cover of Sports Illustrated is very risky and very questionable, and there will be people who will criticize the magazine for that, but the fact is if you saw him play you'd understand. Anyone who has seen him play, from NBA people to journalists, won't criticize this cover appearance. James is just not this year's phenom. He is very likely this decade's phenom. There are going to be people bringing up Felipe Lopez (who was on the cover of SI in 1994), but this is a totally different ballgame.

CNNSI.com: Does James ever get the chance to just be a 17 year old and hang out with friends, or is he always concentrating on basketball?

Wahl: He's got a real good support system of friends around him. It's a pretty small circle and he hasn't abandoned them yet, and I get the sense he won't abandon them in the future. I took James and three of his pals up to Cleveland for the Wizards-Cavs game. Two were sophomores on the St. Vincent-St. Mary team and the other guy was Maverick Carter , a close friend James calls his "cousin," who will be playing at Akron next year. It's a very tight group and even though James' stock has been blowing up since last summer, he is sticking with the people he's been with and he's pretty wary of anyone trying to enter the picture right now.

As for basketball, it's never been something that took over his entire life. He still doesn't play basketball year-round. He plays football in the fall, which is another thing that shows how different this kid is. I asked him if he played a lot on city courts in Akron and he said he didn't. Most of his work and improvement have taken place in the gym.

CNNSI.com: Is there even a one-percent chance James will go to college?

Wahl: I don't think so, but he would say so. In fact, he'd say there's more than a one-percent chance. He's been pretty coy about college and whether he'll go. He even has his list of schools ready when you ask him about it. And yet, whenever you get down to talking to him and his family about what the next year is going to be like, the focus of the conversation is on all the decisions that need to be made regarding shoe deals, representation, attorneys -- the kinds of things you don't worry about if you're going to college.

CNNSI.com: Another interesting tidbit from the story is that James says he would like to enter the NBA after his junior year. Was that ever a serious option?

Wahl: It came up last summer after James played so well at the ABCD camp. A journalist asked him if he'd like to be the first high school underclassman to jump to the NBA. From what it sounds like, neither James nor the journalist knew anything about the NBA rule that says you can't do that. And so James said, "Yeah, I'd love to be the first one." And the fact is, yeah, he would love to be the first one and he thinks he's ready -- and a lot of people in the NBA think he's ready right now -- so it became a big deal last summer. But the NBA doesn't allow juniors to make the jump, so he'd have to go to court, and it would be a huge offcourt distraction.

Within a week, James came out and said he wasn't going to jump and he was going to stick around and graduate after his senior year and go from there. But this story still has a life of its own; for some reason, people still think he's contemplating the move. There was a story in The New York Times this week reporting that James still wants to enter the NBA after his junior year, but James hasn't said that for six months.

I guess it's possible that LeBron could change his stance in the next couple of months -- and maybe being on the cover of Sports Illustrated will change that -- but right now he's vowing that he's not only going to stick around for his senior year, but also graduate from high school because he doesn't have to graduate to go to the NBA next year. He's got a B average and the fact that Duke is sending him letters shows he's not a meathead. LeBron has said over and over for months that he's not leaving after his junior year.

CNNSI.com: How do you see James' future playing out? How good will he be in the NBA?

Wahl: It's hard right now to speculate on actual performance, but these are questions that we can ask and think about without worrying that this is too much too soon for James. Everything he has shown to this point suggests that he could be the player of his generation. The big difference for him is what he brings to the table physically. As opposed to Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and even Kevin Garnett who were pretty spindly when they came out of high school, LeBron is physically built. He's built like a 21, 22 year old. He's 6-foot-7, still growing, well-muscled, 225 pounds. Right now he can take the punishment the NBA brings. The most remarkable thing is what Danny Ainge said: "There are only four or five players in the NBA that I wouldn't trade to get LeBron right now." This isn't some unnamed scout. This is Danny Ainge who knows the NBA very well.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl covers the college basketball beat and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question.

The Feb. 18 issue of Sports Illustrated is on newsstands now.

 

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