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The basketball world didn’t know what LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were going to bring them quite yet. But it felt like something special would happen.
It was Feb. 10, 2002, and over 11,000 fans attended Sovereign Bank Arena (which is now called CURE Insurance Arena) in Trenton, New Jersey. James was a high school junior at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Ohio. Anthony, who was committed to Syracuse, had transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior year.
James finished with 36 points (12-27 FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 steals. Anthony recorded 34 points (14-24 FG), 11 rebounds, and 2 assists. Oak Hill emerged victorious.
One week later, on Feb. 18, James was dubbed “The Chosen One” and featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in an article penned by the late Grant Wahl — who died in Qatar while covering the World Cup last week.
James and his sons, Bronny and Bryce, recreated the famous cover earlier this year. Tonight, Bronny can recreate history. He will play against Anthony’s son, Kiyan. They will have a chance to recreate the magic that their fathers began two decades prior.
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) will face Christ the King (Queens, NY) in California at 11:30 pm ET. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Both schools are currently ranked in the SCNext Top 25 best 2022-23 high school boys’ basketball teams.
LeBron and Carmelo are expected to attend the game, per Tarek Fattal.
UCLA is one of the high-major college programs expected to attend as well, according to Adam Zagoria. Bronny has visited Ohio State and reportedly has interest from Oregon and Michigan. He has received an offer from Memphis and already has various NIL deals, including Beats By Dre.
Bronny’s defense will give him a shot in the pros, but some talent evaluators are unsure if he will be ready for the NBA within the next few years. LeBron said he plans to play alongside Bronny in the NBA. He will have a chance to prove his talent against Anthony this evening.
The game comes exactly 20 years after LeBron made his national television debut on ESPN2 when St. Vincent-St. Mary upset the No. 1 overall Oak Hill (Anthony was already in college) during a rematch on Dec. 12, 2002.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Brittney Griner is no longer in Russian custody, and she returned to a basketball court this weekend. Here is what happened:
“After spending a horrifyingly long time in a Russian prison, WNBA star Brittney Griner has finally returned home to the United States.
The former WNBA champion was held in Russian captivity for nearly 300 days after Russian customs found vape cartridges containing hashish oil. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, but rumors of a prisoner swap proved to be accurate.
Bringing her home came at a very heavy cost, sending the imprisoned international arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia, but the sports world was overjoyed to have Griner back on domestic soil.
Griner is at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, per T.J. Quinn, where she reportedly had a light basketball workout on Sunday.”
During her first workout, Griner’s first move was reportedly a dunk.
One To Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Heat (-160, -3.5) vs. Pacers (+140), O/U 229.5, 7:00 PM ET
Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton is one of my favorite players to watch this season, and it’s such a pleasure watching him develop into one of the NBA’s best guards.
Shootaround
—Rudy Gobert, the last guy who should have done this, liked an Elon Musk tweet criticizing Dr. Fauci
— Zion Williamson had the coldest explanation for his extremely disrespectful dunk on the Suns
—Doc Rivers gives an update on Tyrese Maxey’s recovery for the Sixers
— HoopsHype’s trade rumor rankings: Zach LaVine, Kyle Kuzma, and more