Time is a thief that can rob you of youth before you realize it. That is the case for all of us ... except if your name is LeBron James. James, 41, is and is entering his 24th season in the NBA.
When James' new team -- the 76ers -- plays its season opener on Tuesday night against the reigning champion Knicks at Madison Square Garden, it will be nearly 23 years to the day since James stepped on the floor in Sacramento to play in his first regular-season NBA game. I first wrote about James in the fall of 2003, when I was an 18-year-old high schooler in Ohio. As a college sophomore, I wrote about him again in 2006.
Like many to come over the following years, the focus of that story was about whether James could one day surpass Michael Jordan, the sports icon of my childhood. And now here we are, two decades later. Like James, I am 41, a father and have been bitten by the golf bug.
That's where comparisons between James and I end. But the comparisons between James and Jordan? As the past 20 years have shown us, they're not going anywhere.
Long ago, James answered the question as to whether or not he could live up to his unprecedented hype. His laundry list of accomplishments includes four NBA titles (with three different franchises), four league MVPs, playing in an unfathomable eight straight Finals, being part of the NBA's first father-son duo, and being the catalyst behind the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. From a longevity standpoint, James stands alone.
He is the NBA's all-time leader in points and games played. He is the charter member of the 40K/10K/10K club (40,000 career points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists). Ironically, James' most famous play is not a basket, rebound or an assist.
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