LeBron James Dishes on Dinner With Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino, 'Really Cool Moment'

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has obviously connected with many celebrities over the years, as he's been in the national spotlight ever since he was considered one of the best basketball prospects ever while starring at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.

In a year-long interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin, James was asked if fans would be surprised about a relationship he has with any celebrity off the court.

"Leonardo DiCaprio," James replied. "I got dinner with Leo at Avra in Beverly Hills, and he told us about "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" before he started filming it. That was crazy. I don't remember how our connection started. I don't know if Mav [Carter] set that up, I have no idea. But I just showed up and Leo was there. And then Al Pacino showed up."

Pacino spent time with James and DiCaprio as well. McMenamin then noted that James' favorite movie is "The Godfather," which Pacino starred in.

"That's all I was talking about," James said. "He couldn't believe how much I knew the movie. I was taking him back to stuff that he probably forgot about. Obviously he's done about a f--king billion movies. But he was super surprised that I knew that much about those movies. That was a really cool moment for me."

McMenamin then asked if James got starstruck.

"Starstruck, nah. But, f--k, [Pacino] is one of the greatest actors of all time. Both of them, him and Leo. And Michael Corleone is one of my favorite characters of all time, in movie history. So to be able to have that moment, it was another, 'I'm from Akron, Ohio,' moment. Like, I'm from Akron, Ohio, how am I in a room with two of the greatest that have ever been on a movie screen?"

The question-and-answer session was part of a unique interview proposed by McMenamin, in which he asked James a series of 23 unique questions in one-on-one interviews through the season. The interview ended up being more than 23 questions as McMenamin got to know more about one of the most media-covered athletes in sports history.

The 41-year-old James is still starring in his 23rd NBA season. He's currently leading the shorthanded Lakers, who have been without Luka Doncic (Grade 2 hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (Grade 2 oblique strain) since an April 2 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a 3-1 first round series lead over the Houston Rockets.

L.A. hopes to close out the series on Wednesday at home, which would lead to a second round matchup against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.