LeBron Says He Considered Himself No. 450 in NBA After Being Drafted No. 1 to Cavs

Despite being widely heralded as the "Next Big Thing," LeBron James thought he had everything to prove when the Cleveland Cavaliers made him the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft.

On the newest episode of his Mind the Game podcast with co-host Steve Nash, James said he had a "commanding" voice when starring at St. Vincent–St. Mary in high school. Upon arriving in the NBA, he wanted to observe more and earn the respect of his teammates.

"I was the No. 1 player in the country my senior year, but I knew when I got drafted I was No. 450," he said (8:45 mark). "That's how I looked at it. I was like, 'OK, how can I get back to No. 1,' like I did when I was a freshman to my senior year. ... It wasn't going to be me talking. I needed to soak in the knowledge. I needed to learn. I need to earn it."

James is exaggerating slightly when he posits he started at the bottom of the ladder as a rookie in 2003-04. Before he ever stepped onto the court, he was sold as a franchise savior for his hometown team and a star who warranted a frenzied battle for his first shoe deal.

But there's no question he had his skeptics, and some of those were probably on his own team.

Before the Cavs selected LeBron, Carlos Boozer suggested at the time they "have better players than him at his position already on our team." Darius Miles thought James "can just hop on our bandwagon," the bandwagon being a squad that went 17-65.

While it seems silly now, there were plenty of questions about whether James warranted the kind of hype he received.

Duke star Cooper Flagg can take some lessons from what James said.

Flagg is the consensus No. 1 player in the 2025 draft class and expected to fill a Luka Dončić-sized hole within the Dallas Mavericks organization. In the eyes of his peers, though, he'll be just like every other rookie who needs to show he belongs.