LeBron has been playing in the league for some time now. It’s been 20 years, to be exact. And when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Houston Rockets on Monday night, he was reminded by rookie Jabari Smith Jr. just how long he has been playing...
The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed the Houston Rockets to the Crypto.com Arena on Monday night in Los Angeles, California. LeBron has played professional ball since 2003 when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him in the NBA draft with their first overall pick. It seemed that he was destined for greatness. At only 19 years old, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year, and it didn’t take long for his nickname King James to take hold. He certainly was, and still is, the king of the NBA. He is a four-time NBA champ, Finals MVP, and MVP. He has been on the NBA All-Star a total of 18 times, and it doesn’t stop there. However, the 38-year-old shows no signs of slowing down. According to Yahoo Sports, he averages 29.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, and seven assists per game. On Monday night, he got a reminder of just how long he has been in the game.
Jabari Smith Junior, a rookie who was picked by the Houston Rockets with the third overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, was the one who gave LeBron the dose of reality. During gameplay, the Rockets rookie went up to the King and said to him, “You played against my dad your first NBA game ever.” He then continued, “You feel old, don’t you?” The two players seemed to laugh together and then continued playing. The brief moment was captured by the television broadcast. Jabari Smith Sr. played for the Sacramento Kings for two years, and during one of those years, LeBron James made his NBA debut. Now twenty years later, his son is going up against James during his first season as an NBA player. After the game was finished, Jabari Smith Sr. came onto the court and shared a big hug with James.
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Will never forget the smile on my dads face💯one of the best days of my life. https://t.co/Z65vEfdYzl
— Jabari Smith Jr (@jabarismithjr) January 17, 2023
While the Lakers defeated the Rockets 140 to 132, Jabari Smith Jr. retweeted the moments after the game when his dad greeted James. It is crazy how time flies by - from playing together when James was a rookie to now James being the old pro playing against Smith's son. Stay tuned - he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
