Bill Walton Predicts LeBron James' Greatness Nearly Two Decades Ago: 'He Reminds Me so Much of Michael Jordan'

NBA legend Bill Walton has already predicted LeBron James' greatness during the early days of the Los Angeles Lakers star's career.

LeBron James has been in the league for almost 20 years now. And what he has been able to achieve at this point in his career is legendary, without a doubt.

LeBron James' Greatness for More Than a Decade

According to Fadeaway World, former NBA player Bill Walton predicted that the then 20-year-old LeBron James would be an all-time great.

During an interview in 2005, Walton shared that James was on a similar trajectory to Michael Jordan during the early years of his career.

According to Walton, in James' early days in his career, he has already done spectacular things, but it was so sad and frustrating that just like Michael Jordan, his team was still losing despite displaying impact and talent on and off the court.

"LeBron has everything going for him, the talent, he reminds me so much of Michael Jordan in the early days of his career. Playing out there by himself. And his teammates are letting him down right now. They don't have any team spirit," Bill Walton said.

"They don't have any concept of playing together and you see this guy who's just 20 years old doing things that have never been done before and everybody else is sort of scratching their heads thinking 'what do we do?' They need a completely new team around him," the NBA legend added.

LeBron James' Legendary Career

LeBron Raymone James Sr., popularly known as LeBron James, came into the NBA in 2003 after playing in high school at the age of 18.

Despite doubts surrounding him, James immediately showed the league why he was one of the most sought-after stars coming into the NBA. After the team hit the ground in the standings, James elevated the Cleveland Cavaliers upon his arrival.

James became an All-Star during his sophomore season and already placed himself as a contender to win the MVP title. The fact that James was in the running in the MVP race only at just age 20 was truly incredible.

After two seasons, LeBron James won his first MVP at the age of 24, becoming one of the youngest MVPs in NBA history to win the prestigious accolade. Despite MVP stats season after season, it took him a few more years to win his first NBA championship.

Since he won his first ring with the Miami Heat, LeBron James has had a legendary career that few will ever match up with.

It was when the Cavs constructed the team with enough talent to face the team holding the best regular-season record in NBA history that "The King" showed why he belonged in the GOAT conversation.

James did not fail his home team and delivered the Larry O'Brien trophy in Cleveland, Ohio after decades of drought in sports titles.

However, James' career choices have led to people criticizing him and not giving him the credit that he deserves, even based on the numbers that he already put up.

Despite entering the upcoming season, playing at a high level, LeBron James' greatness still gets taken for granted by his detractors.

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Written by: Jess Smith

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