Selected number one or two overall -- before anyone else in the 2003 NBA Draft, James found himself playing in his home state of Ohio, on a terrible team! The Cleveland Cavaliers had a 17-65 record for the 2002-2003 season, before they got LeBron. Dead-last place.

In James’ first season, the Cavs rose to 35-47. LeBron amazingly averaged 20.9 points per game and was named rookie of the year, beating out first-year phenom Carmelo Anthony, who had played college ball at Syracuse. LeBron was one of three rookies in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists in one season (joining Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan). Is he better than Carmelo? Most think so.

In 2004, James played on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that captured the bronze medal in Athens.

In James’ second NBA season, he averaged 27.2 points and the Cavs had a winning record, 42-40, narrowly missing the playoffs. LeBron played in his first NBA All-Star game in 2005 -- the second All-Star starter in Cavalier history (after Shawn Kemp) and dropped in 13 points. He also became the youngest and second-fastest player (after Oscar Robertson) to reach 3,500 career points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists. He scored a career high 56 points against the Raptors in a game at Toronto on March 20, 2005.

With a 50-32 record for the 2005-06 season, the Cavaliers made the playoffs for the first time in the James era, seeded 4th in the Eastern conference. James had achieved a scoring average of 31.4 points per game.

In his first-ever playoff game, leading Cleveland against the Wizards in an opening round Eastern Conference game, he became the first player to score a triple-double in his first playoff game since Magic Johnson did it in 1980. LeBron racked up 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.



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