Tim Hardaway says he knew LeBron James was different long before the NBA. He remembers watching James play at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School after the turn of the century, then seeing him take off from the free-throw line on a 3-on-2 break and miss the dunk.
"To me? That was impressive," Hardaway said of the play. He said James was still big and thick even then, but his first reaction was not to the size. It was to the way James got to the rim, full speed, from a spot on the floor most players would never even try. Hardaway said James's jump shot was not yet there, but his playmaking was already elite and his ability to read the game stood out.
That memory fits the arc James has spent more than two decades building. In his rookie season, he averaged 20.9 points per game and 5.9 assists per game, early proof that the future four-time MVP arrived with more than highlight-reel athleticism. James is 41 years old now, and he has again been asked to carry a heavy playmaking load for the Lakers with Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic injured.
The numbers from the last four games show how much that role has mattered. James averaged 25.5 points and 11.0 assists over that stretch, while Luke Kennard scored over 13 points in three of four contests and Deandre Ayton scored over 20 points in two of those four. Hardaway said the signs were there in high school that James was ready for the next level, and the present-day stat line says the same thing in a different way.
What Hardaway saw then is what the league has spent years confirming now: James was already a complete basketball problem before he ever entered the NBA. He could pass, he could drive, and even when the dunk did not go down, the speed and force behind it made the point.