Long before he stepped on an NBA hardwood, LeBron James was already making all the headlines. He was polarizing from day one, as some people didnāt care for the comparisons with Michael Jordan and the fact that he wore 23.
Some said that James was self-proclaimed. That he shouldnāt go around calling himselfāThe Chosen Oneā or āThe Kingā, not knowing that the first nickname was given by the media. As for the second, it had remained a mysteryā¦ until now.
Recently, one of his childhood friends shed some light on the true origins of the āKing Jamesā nickname, stating that it came during his freshman year in High School and that it was the moment he realized he was going to be a superstar.
LeBron Jamesā Childhood Friend Randy Mims Reveals The Origin Of āKingā Nickname:
āIt became clear to me how big LeBron was freshman year. He and Maverick (Carter) won the state championship together. And these kids kept ā like ā running around the hotel talking about āKing Jamesā. I finally just stopped one of these kids like, āWho is this King James you guys keep talking about?ā and theyāre like āYou donāt know King James? Thatās LeBron James.āYou know I checked in, I go to his room, I go āHey man, the craziest thing is going on downstairs, these people are going around calling you King Jamesā and he laughed like āYeah, thatās what theyāve been calling me.ā And Iām like, at that point, I realize like this is a real thing,ā Randy Mims said on More Than An Athlete.
LeBron was a worldwide sensation before taking his talents to the NBA. He was the most hyped prospect in the history of the Draft, playing on crowded gyms with everybody wanting to take a look at this high school kid. Itās safe to say that heās surpassed all expectations about him.
