When comparing LeBron James and Moses Malone
Without a shadow of a doubt, LeBron James and Moses Malone’s careers couldn’t have been more dissimilar. They didn’t even play the same position and came from different eras.
Why bother making such a comparison, you must be thinking. Perhaps you’re also curious as to why they skipped out on higher education.
Moses Malone’s family needed financial assistance, but he didn’t seem prepared for a four-year university due to issues like his stuttering.
LeBron simply did not think he would benefit from college, and he considered this a wise business decision.
They skipped college altogether and went straight into the pros. The National Basketball Association wasn’t Malone’s first stop; he played in the American Basketball Association first.
Many would disapprove of such a choice, as leaving before one’s junior or senior year can be detrimental to one’s development as a person and as a basketball player.
Some might say that those who hold this view “won,” since the NBA has outlawed the practice of players entering the league directly from high school.
This was a result of the collective bargaining agreement that went into effect for the 2005–2006 NBA season.
James is one of the more recent players to make the jump directly from high school, but Karl Malone is one of the earliest in league history to do so.
Not long after LeBron James debuted in the NBA, the league outlawed the possibility of high school students entering the league as undrafted free agents.
However, these two players were able to make an immediate impact in the league despite not attending college.
There were a total of five championships won by teams on which either player was a significant contributor (four for James and one for Malone).
Malone, Moses
Moses Malone may not be a household name to modern basketball fans, especially if they are of a younger generation. This is because he spent the vast majority of his professional career with the Philadelphia 76ers, and played primarily alongside Julius “Dr. J” Erving. In 1995, he stopped working altogether.
Although he played during the same era as Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who are often credited with reviving the NBA’s popularity, the 76ers were often overlooked during this time period.
Outside of the Celtics, Lakers, and Pistons, the 76ers were the only team to win an NBA championship in the 1980s.
Malone’s Time in High School
While attending Saint Petersburg High School in Virginia, Malone was an avid member of the school’s PF Flyers basketball team, for which he would regularly stay up until 2 a.m.
Malone was an outlier in that he didn’t reach his full potential until later in life. After waiting until he was 13, he finally decided to try out basketball.
He was already 6’3 a year earlier and reached his full height of 6’10 during that time.
Soon after Malone started high school, Saint Petersburg won two state titles under his direction and went on a 50-game unbeaten run.
The ABA’s Malone
After graduating from high school and entering the ABA, Malone continued to achieve greatness. He was fully grown and only slightly shorter than the league’s tallest centers, so he fit right in with the pros.
Nonetheless, this did not prevent him from rising to power.
Malone’s statistics are comparable to those of legends like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
As Malone has already been discussed, we can move on to LeBron James.
Lebron James
LeBron James went to high school at Akron’s Saint Mary, where he was a huge force and helped the school to a 101-6 record.
He never lost a game during his time in high school. His coach had circled a particular game on the schedule because he wanted his team to get a taste of what it would be like to play at a higher level in preparation for their move to Division 2 the following season.
In fact, decades after the fact, players still talk about this event as if it had happened yesterday.
NBA star James
One of the many highlights of James’ NBA career is the fact that he has won a championship with three different teams.
The Cavaliers, his team in Cleveland, as well as the Heat and Lakers, two of the NBA’s best teams outside of Cleveland.
James made a minor show of his impending departure from Cleveland by speculating on his future career.
On national television, he called his departure to Miami “the decision,” and he was soon joined by Chris Bosch and Dwyane Wade. Together, they would eventually be champions.
James returned to his native Cleveland and won a championship there, but he had previously done the same with the Los Angeles Lakers.
More Recently, LeBron James
James’s attempts to have a say in his courtside teammates have gained notoriety over the past few seasons.
This is standard procedure in the professional sports industry because players rarely stay with the same team for very long.
The best NBA teams of my youth (the 1980s) typically kept their first six to eight players for five seasons or more.
Up until the 2020s, however, players view the sport purely as a business, and they typically follow the opportunities to maximize their financial gain or increase their chances of winning a championship. With the rise of online sports betting, such as OKBET Sports Betting, fans and players alike have been able to experience the excitement of sports in a new way.
