Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James says he first realized his athletic gifts set him apart during his debut seasons of organized football and basketball, long before his NBA career began.
Speaking with Complex, the four-time league MVP explained that the feeling arrived in his very first year of organized football. James, then a skinny youngster, played six games, scored 18 touchdowns and was named the team’s MVP.
“I was a lot faster and bigger,” he said. “We played six games and I got the MVP that year.”
Immediately afterward, the basketball schedule started. In that inaugural season on the hardwood, his squad went 6-0 and captured a championship. “I was out there doing things I shouldn’t have been doing,” James added.
The next milestone came in eighth grade at an AAU national tournament in Orlando, Florida. James’ team of six or seven players from Akron, Ohio, finished second to a Southern California club. During that run, he dunked in games for the first time and delivered moves he had only imagined weeks earlier. “I was like, ‘Oh, it’s happening,’” he recalled. “That was the moment.”
Now 40, James is preparing for an unprecedented 23rd NBA season in 2025-26. The Lakers have bolstered their roster with veteran additions and will welcome a healthy, motivated Luka Dončić after his standout performance at EuroBasket 2025. Los Angeles is counting on James to steer another deep postseason push.
Source: Lakers Nation
