Carlos Boozer was in his second season in the NBA when the Cleveland Cavaliers selected LeBron James with the first pick in the 2003 NBA Draft after he starred in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
Speaking on "The Rich Eisen Show," Boozer, an NCAA champion with Duke in 2001, talked about his impression of James when he first arrived in Cleveland, and how, despite being treated as a rookie by the veterans, there was no denying he was the best player on the team.
"To be honest with you, I don't think any of us knew how good he was going to be. You know, we obviously watched him in high school. We've seen a ton of guys in high school that were dominant. But he stepped in as a rookie and was just as dominant, like, he was the best player. We knew he was the best player after the first practice we had," said Boozer, who played one season with James before signing with the Utah Jazz in 2004.
"I was blown away. This kid was 18, built like a grown man. He was stronger [than most 18-year-olds], you know, he was more athletic obviously, but he had a good build to him and his vision, his IQ, his basketball, uh, just natural born given ability was beyond what we had seen before," he added.
James made his NBA debut on October 29, 2003, on the road against the Sacramento Kings . While they went on to lose the game, 106-02, he posted 25 points, six rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a block while shooting 12-of-20 from the field. At the time, this was the highest-scoring debut by a player entering the league straight from high school.
From there, he continued to soar, leading the Cavaliers to an 18-game improvement with a season record of 35-47, but they missed the playoffs. He finished his rookie campaign averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals on his way to being named Rookie of the Year and ending at ninth place in the MVP race.
In 2007, James led the Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance, but they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs . He stayed in Cleveland for three more years before taking his talents to the Miami Heat .
With the Heat, LeBron reached the NBA Finals in each of his four seasons, winning it all in 2012 and 2013.
He returned to Cleveland in 2014 and led the Cavaliers to another Finals appearance, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors . In 2016, they finally reached the Promised Land, exacting payback on the Warriors. LeBron played two more years in Ohio before joining the Los Angeles Lakers .
James is now playing in his 23rd year in the NBA, still with the Lakers , who he led to the 2020 NBA title. At 41 years old, the game has presented a myriad of challenges, but he remains productive, averaging 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 34 minutes of play.
At this stage of his career, he has broken almost every significant individual record in NBA history, including the all-time total points scored, long held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He now has 43,276 points.
Recently, James broke Robert Parish's record for most regular-season games played, currently at 1,615.
For all he has done since Day One in the NBA, it is no wonder that James is widely considered as one of the greatest, if not the basketball GOAT altogether. And lucky are those like Boozer who got to see its early development up close.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
