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Sacramento, Oct. 29, 2003
It feels like a late-round playoff game at Arco Arena, where 300-plus media members have gathered. The Sacramento Kings owners, Gavin and Joe Maloof, hold a pregame press conference and thank the NBA for giving them this golden chance to host the game.
James' first Nike commercial, depicting the pressure of his first NBA game and filmed at Arco a month earlier, is running 'round the clock on TNT and ESPN. Talk shows and columnists are running amok. Some 45 minutes before the game, hundreds of fans press up to the court, straining to watch James warm up.
Another sellout crowd is rattling the building, but TNT's early game goes into overtime, so everyone waits. James plops his 6-8, 240-pound frame on the scorer's table and waits for the whistle to call him to the opening tip. A cameraman is a foot from him, shooting from a low angle and focusing on his face. LeBron is biting his nails.
In the next 12 minutes, the Kings play beautiful basketball, executing the Princeton offense with seamless precision as they take a giant early lead. The home fans barely notice and neither does James, who shows he can score in bunches like a seasoned vet. He scores 12 of his 25 points in the first quarter and puts up enough highlights to fill the "SportsCenter" Top 10.
Late in the period, he makes steals on three of four Kings possessions. With one, he races to the other end and throws the ball down with vigor; the right-handed soaring jam in the Cavs' new wine-color jersey is still one of the most recognizable shots of him. The other two he passes off to teammates for dunks, including one when he turns and waits for teammate Ricky Davis, bends and shovels it to him for an alley-oop. He is selfless, spontaneous and spectacular in a single moment.
The Cavs come back and briefly take the lead in the fourth quarter before losing by 14 points. Along with his 25 points, James posts nine assists, six rebounds and four steals. It is one of 15 losses in the Cavs' first 19 games.
Kings coach Rick Adelman ends his press conference after three questions, noticing there is little interest in anything he has to say unless it is about James. The media race to the Cavs' locker room, where a ring of microphones and cameras illuminate James in a cramped hallway. He is saying he doesn't believe in pressure.
