Bill Walton Predicted Lebron James Being An All-Time Great When LeBron Was Only 20 Years Old: “He Reminds Me So Much Of Michael Jordan In The Early Days Of His Career”

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LeBron James' greatness sometimes gets taken for granted. James has been in the league for almost 20 years now, and what he's been able to achieve in his career is legendary without a doubt. But regardless, James still has his detractors.

LeBron came into the NBA in 2003, when he was just an 18-year-old playing in high school. Immediately, James showed why he was one of the most sought-after stars coming into the league, hitting the ground running and elevating the Cleveland Cavaliers upon his arrival.

Within his sophomore season, James became an All-Star and was a contender to win the MVP title. The fact that James was in the running to win MVP at just age 20 was truly incredible. 

James' career choices have led to people criticizing him and not giving him the credit he deserves. But when he was just a 20-year-old, one former NBA player said that he was an all-time great, and was on a similar trajectory to Michael Jordan during the early years of his career.

"LeBron James is there right now. And what he's doing is just so spectacular, but is also sad and frustrating because 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. 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.”

James would continue his defying his age and doing incredible things. At just 22, James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals single-handedly, but could not help them get past the juggernaut that was the San Antonio Spurs.

Within the next 2 seasons, James would win his first MVP at the age of 24, becoming one of the youngest in NBA history to win the accolade. But it would take him a few more seasons and changing teams to win his first NBA championships. But since then, he's gone on to have a legendary career that few will ever match up with.