The fact that this dude went from playing kids in highschool to GROWN ASS MEN in the best league in the world, and threw down 25 points in his first game, is unreal.

The King’s first game is against the Kings. I want my like.

Now 20 years later, he's the NBA's all-time leading scorer

Mental strength of this dude is what's unbelievable to me, so much expectations and hype and he didn't choke, he persevered

*puts up 25 points and 9 assists in his first game as an 18 year old* “I could’ve done more for the win” Legendary.

The day Skip Bayless career started 😂😂

Him scoring 25 adjusted for 2022 inflation is like scoring 35 today

I remember watching this kid LeBron James playing in the McDonald's all star game during my 8th year in the military. Now after 24yrs of service, retirement, and starting the second half of my life this kid is still going strong in the NBA! I don't care how you feel about it, you have to respect his drive.

Damn! Is this really his first game?? He plays and talks like he's been in the league for years. Destined for greatness.

The greatest hype anybody ever lived up to: lebron james.

This building held 17,317 fans and I'm blessed to say I was one of the people in attendance that night. My grandparents used to work at Arco Arena where the Sacramento Kings used to play and since she worked in Management she received season tickets from 1986 to 2005 before they both retired. I was luck enough to attend thousands of Sacramento Kings games over the years. I miss seeing them live. We knew Lebron and the hype that night of having earned a 100 million dollar shoe deal before playing in his first ever NBA game, but we had no idea he'd become what he is today.

from first 2 point shot to 38,388 pts is just legendary and magical to watch

7:19 "he's going to go down the lane one day and realize he can dunk that. People are going to be scared of LeBron James getting a step on them." He was speaking the future.

1st game and already carrying the team

30k pts 10k boards 10k assist 4 MVP 4 Rings 4 FMVP What a career 👑👑👑

I can't believe this is 20 years ago now, crazy. I was 21 and remember exactly where I was for this game. And to think he's still ballin' out is pretty incredible.

It’s crazy how he lived up to the hype. ALL of it

the way he played was already so mature , remember he was 18

At 37 years old he just scored 56 vs GSW and a couple days later put up 50 vs Wizards. Greatness. Lived up to the hype? Surpassed it.

As a Kings fan and lifelong Sacramento resident, I feel proud that LeBron’s first career NBA game was in this city.

2:51 the "Lebron vs Rest of team" stats first started in his 1st ever NBA game goddam thats how good Lebron is

Lebron was donating to the underprivileged community kids since day one in the nba the guy never forgot where he comes from big respect

This guy showed, in his first game, what he’d be in the future. This man lived up to all the hype.

Who in that crowd would’ve thought they were witnessing the first 2 points of what would become 40,000+ points

The one time I thank UKposts for a recommendation. Now I'm gonna go through all my favourite players first games.

I’ve yet to see a person who’s faced more hate and more adversity than this guy. Hasn’t had off court problems, stayed true to his high school sweetheart, awesome father to his four kids I think? Amazing example on and off the court. I hope he gets the goodbye retirement he deserves when it’s all said and done

One of the few that lived up to the hype and surpassed it and still going strong at 37 years old. Crazy man definitely one of the greatest athletes of all time.

Lebron first Game. Amazing I was alive but I was too young in 2003. I was born in 1994. LEBRON MY GOAT 🐐

Maybe one day he becomes the face of the league, becomes a 4x MVP, 3x champion, and the most important championship he wins is coming back down 3-1 against a 73 win team and bringing a chip home to his hometown😎

Reporter asking LeBron if he could comeback down 13 points would sound like a joke today 😂

He’s just out of high school and this is his first NBA game. And he’s being interviewed at halftime talking about “we’re not playing as well as I know we can” crazy

And Decades later You are the first player in nba history to score 40,000 points all time❤

Bro LeBron halftime interview is like he’s been in the league for years🤦‍♂️

I’m sitting here, just over 3 minutes in and I’m thinking “damn he did all this in just the first quarter?! For a debut?!” 😂

Imagine being a Cavs player and seeing this dude the first day of practice. Must have taken less than 5 seconds to realize he was better than everyone else haha

"You feel old, Dont you?" 😂😂😂

Here after he just wrapped his 17th season with a 4th Finals MVP for a third different team. What a player.

People forget how bad these cavs teams were and he took them deep into the playoffs since his 3rd year when he was 20 years old and scoring 40 points like nothing

I’m not really a lebron fan but you cant deny the level player he is…for him to come out in his debut game out of high school and play like this…wow, respect

Now 21 years later he's the all time leading scorer with 40k

Could you imagine being 18 and just finishing high school, playing with basketball with kids, then being the first overall pick, then dropping 25 pts against grown ass men in your very first game. I want to know what was in his head during that first game

Its literally unbelievable what this man did in his first ever NBA game, the man's averaged 27-7-7 for 15 straight seasons

Who's here after Jabari Smith Jr. Told bron that he played against his dad Jabari Sr. 🤣

Who's here after watching Wemby's Debut Game

Very first game gets 25 points, distrubutes the ball well, and says "i could have done more" in self criticism after the game. Yet dudes think hes "arrogant" for years after.

Let's not overlook the fact that they interviewed a rookie at halftime. His maturity and leadership was on full display from the time he was 18 until now...

This perfectly summarises his first stint with the cavs. Sublime, carrying the team and exceeding all expectations… but the team let him down and they came up short in the end

19 years later LeBron still putting video game like numbers. 56pts against the GSW and 50 against WAS

This man came into the league with the highest expectations, and he somehow surpassed all of them

1:56 Imagine being a GROWN man playing in the league for years and this kid straight outta high school comes and does THAT to you at the beginning of the game.

For it being his firs official NBA Halftime interview, it blows my mind. So many rookies would be all smiles just happy to be there, he was like, we have to win and be better. Unreal

I watched his fourth NBA game (against the Nuggets -- Carmelo was also a rookie) in an airport bar. The guy on the stool next to me was glued to the game, chuckling and shaking his head at some of the things LeBron was doing. After a while, we started talking, and he pointed out how LeBron was positioning himself on the court like a 10-year veteran. How he had the vision to make passes that set up the next pass. How he was funneling people on defense to the right spots. Turns out, the guy was an assistant basketball coach at a D1 school in California. Unlike me, he KNEW the game. And he knew what he was seeing was transcendent. At that point, I realized that maybe, for once, all the hype was deserved. Best flight delay I've ever had.

So cool to hear the announcers talking about him before knowing just how legendary he would become

I came here because Jabari smith Jr. Told Lebron he played with his father on his very first NBA Game against Sacramento. 😂

Who’s here after Jabari Smith Jr reminded Lebron about this day 🤘🚀

I don’t think anyone was or is more nba ready at 18.

Gonna be a sad day when he retires. Nobody has ever had game like the king

My dad graduated high school when LeBron started , He had me in ‘06. I graduated high school this year and he still playing….

Jabari Smith Jr: Hey! you played against my dad your first nba game ever. Lebron James: Really? Jabari Smith Jr: Sacramento, You feel old dont you? Haha

Holy shit! He was an elite passer immediately. I know he's developed even more as a passer, but wow! It was there from the start!

I loved how he had an open dunk but unselfishly passed it to his teammate

“You played against my dad in your first NBA game ever…Sacramento”

Watching after jabari jr said hey lebron u played against my dad ur first nba game😅

I remember this game like it was yesterday. It seemed like LeBron could plow his way to the basket at will, and the only thing stopping him from dropping 40 on us was him not realizing he could do it.

wow lebron really turned into a man and really became the GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!! and im so grateful to have witnessed him since 2001

I have never seen anyone seem to look like he facilitated and carried his team in his f*cking first game?!! the king really is something else and he still doing it. sheeeeesh 🤯

im here after watching jabari smith jr told lebron he played againts his father on his very first nba game

I love how the cavs bench aren’t realising how amazing this is, at this point they were still hating

His 1st game he had to play against Webber, Stajokavic, Bibby, Christie, and Divac ?.... Impressive

Who else here after that recent post lol

42 minutes In your first game is wild gah damn 18 years later he’s still playing heavy minutes like that

I wonder what will Zion do in his first game

2:35 a dude in Sacramento, wearing a Lakers jersey, rooting for the Cavs.

Man I was in college at that time, now I am father of three and looking to retire and this dude is still dropping 40s.

This is why I think lebron is up there with Jordan. He was able to come straight out of high school and dominate, and continuously get better throughout his career.

Thanks for basically entertaining us for 17 years

What a first game!

Who’s here after watching Jabari Smith Jr.’s talk to LBJ🤣🙋🏼‍♂️

Jabari Smith Jr. reminding Bron he played with his dad brought me here lol

That first quarter was absolutely IMMACULATE!

This guy is the best ever. Just a different mindset to anyone I've seen of that age. Came in against big men and started to lead them and push. And they let him because they knew that he was the truth. Crazy to watch this knowing what we know now. Just shows the dedication and discipline you need to reach the top and start breaking all time records.

His 1st quarter in this game alone is better than most player’s careers.

these werent just the kings. these were the nba powerhouse kings at the time. absolute studs. he might not have got the W, but he did put the entire league on notice.

5:18 ok but can we take a moment and acknowledge how ridiculous this layup was ? With the left, jumping backwards after a hop, roll off the finger.

2:10 2003 LeBron: **passes to Davis** 2020 LeBron: **passes to Davis**

And to think this season he will become the all time NBA leading scorer. Will have a career stat line of 40k/10k/10k. That will never be duplicated.

His box score: 25 PTS 6 TRB 9 AST 4 STL

He was the only rookie I've ever seen play so great that the pros looked like the rookies. He made everyone look like they were at HIS job

Who came here after Jabari Smith Jr's comment?

here because of the talk between James and Smith junior. 😂

“I dOnT rEAlLy tHInK a hIgH sChOol kID cOUlD cOmE in aND cHanGE tHE tEaAm LiKE ThaT” Congrats Darius !

17 years later still at the top of his game.... crazy endurance

It’s crazy that star players use to play 40 minutes could you imagine that now I would hit every parlay

Commenting here after he became the all time leading scorer earlier

Who else is here because of he got his 4th ring

Dam near 20 years into his career it’s hard to believe one day he would say goodbye to the game can’t wait for him to tell his story hopefully he’ll get one more championship before he hangs it up

Who came here after the Jabari video?

The fact that they were asking him questions like he was a 10 yr vet goes to show the expectations they put on Bron from day 1

First words were “I could have done better.” Fucking legend. He knew what was coming.

Two highlights above the actual highlights are 1. Him talking in the huddle on game 1. Rookies did not talk back then. He was already telling what he sees. 2. His halftime interview at 18 years old. Lebron was designed specifically for what he is doing in life. The rare human that fulfills his actual destiny.