LeBron James To Ben Simmons: You Can Be Better Than Me

While Ben Simmons was still in high school, LeBron James gave the Sixers rookie some words of encouragement that stuck with him until this day.

LeBron told a 17-year-old Simmons, “You have an opportunity to be better than me.”

Sports Illustrated‘s Lee Jenkins recreates the scene:

 At 17, perched on the side of a high school gym in Las Vegas after a session at the LeBron James Skills Academy, [Simmons] felt a meaty palm on his shoulder.

 

“Tomorrow morning,” James told him, “6:30.” Simmons was dressed by four. […]

 

“You have an opportunity,” James told Simmons early on, “to be better than me. But you can’t skip steps. You have to do the work.”

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