Jabari Smith Jr. gave us A reminder of the time since LeBron James made his NBA debut. These are the players he has played with and against.
Since turning 38, LeBron James has been turning back the clock — in the seven games since his birthday, he’s already averaged 40 points three times, averaging 37.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. It may look like he’s back in his mid-twenties, but you can’t avoid reminders of where he’s been in his career.
Monday night against the Houston Rockets, LeBron put up 48 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds. Alperin Sengun led the way for the Rockets, with 33 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Sengun, 20 and in his second season in the NBA, was just 13 when LeBron scored his famous combo on Andre Iguodala’s run to help secure the Cavaliers’ first title. He was nine years old when LeBron James won his first title with the Miami Heat. And he was just a year old when LeBron made his NBA debut.
Sengun’s teammate, rookie Jabari Smith Jr. By reminding LeBron before the game that his father, Jabari Smith Sr. He played against him in his first NBA game. Smith Jr. was six months old at the time.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1615223250690215937/video/1
The world expected greatness when LeBron James made that debut, losing 106-92 to the Sacramento Kings – with 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. But the rest of the players on the court may not have realized that they were participating in a turning point in NBA history.
Who else was on the court for LeBron James’ NBA debut?
The rest of the Cavaliers starting lineup that night Several players have emerged whose (relatively meager) legacies have become intertwined with James’. There was Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who would become LeBron’s teammate Most helped over the course of his career. There was Carlos Boozer, who H ewill leave to the Utah Jazz at the end of that season under outrageous circumstances. There was Ricky Davis, cult favorite W Triple clown. And there was fellow high school NBA star and future podcast host Darius Miles.
The Cavaliers bench that night featured JR Bremer, Desagana Diop, Chris Mehm and Kevin Ollie – a list of mystery NBA players who could be the answers to a slew of trivia questions:
- Who are the classmates of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James? Favorite
- in which NBA players appeared exactly 100 career matches? Favorite
- Which former NBA players have won the NCAA National Championship as a coach? (first)
- Which players have appeared in 500 or more NBA games, averaging 2.0 points or less per game? Favorite
On the flip side, the Kings had started the last full season of Chris Webber’s run with the Kings. He didn’t play in his game, but the rest of the starting lineup – Vlad Divac, Brad Miller, Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, Mike Bibby – featured a slew of familiar faces from the era. All five scored in double figures, and they were joined by Bobby Jackson who contributed 16 coming off the bench. Gerald Wallace, Tony Massenberg and Darius Songella all played off the bench. Aljabri Smith Sr. was on the list but did not appear.
broader look about the nba that night More signs of the times included. The list of scorers for the night included Paul Pierce, Larry Hughes, Tim Duncan, Jermaine O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Keith Van Horn, Vince Carter, Zack Randolph (for Portland) and Stephen Jackson (for the Hawks). In all, 11 games were played that night – only one team, the Kings, broke 100 points and only eight broke 90.
Pre-LeBron James was a different player in the NBA.
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