"LeBron James was on the cover of magazines bro at 17": Hoops fans argue who is the most famous high school player of all time

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LeBron James has created a legacy on the basketball court. He entered his 21st season in the NBA and is still looking strong. Starting his basketball journey at the St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School, he was selected as the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, after skipping NCAA and heading straight to the league.

The famous basketball page ‘Ballislife’ posted a collage of the two-time NBA All-Star Zion Williamson, 2020-21 Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers’ Bronny James and No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2025, AJ Dybantsa.

The page asked fans who the most popular high school basketball player was. The fans gave their opinions in the comment section:

Plenty of fans were surprised that LeBron James’ picture was not in the collage and stated that he should be the clear winner of the poll:

Hoops fans argue who is the most famous high school player of all time

“Lebron was on the cover of magazines bro at 17💀💀💀,” commented a fan referring to James being on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine as a high school player.

A fan commented, “Isn’t Lebron??? Kids now don’t know how popular lebron was in HS. 😂

“This fan claimed that James should be the clear winner because he became popular without the help of social media, “If we’re being honest it’s LeBron the whole world knew him in high school and this was before social media fr🤷🏾‍♂️.”

Some more fans pitched in with their opinions:

Hoops fans argue who is the most famous high school player of all time

“There is no high schooler above Aquile Carr. He legit stopped crime when he played. You can’t top that,” commented a fan.

This fan claimed that LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball should win this poll. “The Ball brothers been the most popular high school players in the last 10 years, no question.”

“1-Lebron 2-Kobe 3-Kevin Garnett. legends 🔥🔥, commented another fan.

A look at LeBron James’ high school career

St. Vincent–St. Mary High School needed a bigger venue, so it moved to the University of Akron to play games and fulfill the ticket demand for its alumni. Plenty of NBA scouts also made it to the games just to see LeBron James play.

He led the St. Vincent–St. Mary basketball team to a 27-0 record, averaging 18 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. James entered the NBA draft after finishing his senior year with an average of 30.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.9 steals per game.

Here’s what he won during his high school career: