LeBron James is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. After 22 seasons and counting as the face of the NBA, The King recently opened up about the moment that started it all. The year is 2003, and LBJ fever has infected every basketball fan around the globe. However, only one city and one team will be able to lay claim to the Chosen One at a time, and that city would be Cleveland. Although, James may have some suspicions on how he ended up on his hometown team after draft night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were given the number one overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and with that pick, they would select the home-grown talent, LeBron James. On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show podcast, James stated that he thinks the league rigged the draft lottery in favor of the Cavaliers. James seems to believe that getting to be drafted by the Cavs was too good to be true. However, there is no concrete evidence to back up these claims. That did not stop LBJ from speaking his mind, though. James would say, “What a coincidence,” regarding the Cavs getting the number one pick in 2003.
Lebron James Accuses the NBA of Giving the Cavs the Number One Overall Pick in 2003
James’s career has been much different than the average NBA player’s. LeBron came straight out of high school. If that is not impressive enough, he was asked to carry a Cavaliers team that had been a lottery team for years. However, in 2007, LeBron would make his first NBA finals appearance. Although, Cleveland would get swept by the San Antonio Spurs. After The King had finally moved on from Cleveland for Miami, he would team up with his best friend Dwayne Wade and win two championships.
However, LeBron couldn’t stay away from home for long, as in 2015, The King would return to his kingdom. James would have the best Cavaliers team he has ever had with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving being his supporting stars. The team would fight their way to four straight NBA Finals appearances against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Despite the Cavs only walking away with one championship, James had finally kept his promise to hang Cleveland a banner. James would then pack it up again and head out west to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA has been accused of being rigged thousands of times, just like other professional sports. However, there is never any solid evidence. Could the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery have been rigged? Possibly. However, it led to some fantastic basketball being played and history being made.
