At 38 years old, LeBron James had a moment that made him feel "extremely old" when the Houston Rockets fell 140-132 to the Los Angeles Lakers Monday night.
Jabari Smith Jr. told James that his father, Jabari Smith Sr., was on the Sacramento Kings' roster the night he made his NBA debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
Smith Sr. witnessed an 18-year-old begin his Hall-of-Fame career by recording 25 points, six rebounds and nine assists, as the Cavaliers sustained a 106-92 loss to the Kings.
"I remember that Sacramento game," coach Stephen Silas said. "There was so much hoopla surrounding it. He had that magnetism, that swagger and confidence. It was the beginning of something great."
Silas was an assistant for his dad, Paul Silas — who served as James' first NBA coach. Silas said he knew James was a special talent from the moment he recorded his first breakaway dunk.
While coaching James during the 2003 Summer League tournament in Orlando, Silas said he was more enamored by his playmaking and high basketball IQ. At that time, he never imagined James as the player who would break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record.
"He just knew the game as an 18-year-old," Silas said. "He made great plays for his teammates. Every pass was on the money, on target and on time. The scoring part just came along with it. And now, he is going to be the greatest scorer in NBA history.
"At that point, I did not know he would get to this point. But soon after I left him, I started to see that he was just a super talent."
James, in his 20th season, scored 48 points (16-of-26 FG, 5-of-10 3PT) to lead the Lakers past the Rockets inside Crypto.com Arena. He now needs 316 points to become the NBA's All-Time scoring leader.
"At his age, he made every big play," Silas said. "But what hurt us was the rhythm 3's that he was making. I've seen him have some really good games before, but this is in the top-five for sure."
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