LeBron James was a sensational young talent even before playing his first NBA game. The four-time NBA champ was a popular name among experts when he was selected as the 1st overall pick in 2003 by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs had a rough 2002-03 season before James made it to the team. King James turned the team’s fortunes as a rookie during the 2003-03 season. However, the then 18-year-old did not receive a very warm welcome from his future teammates when his name was first floated around in the Cavs camp.

The Cavaliers first entered the NBA in 1970. However, the franchise did not win a single championship until 2016, under LeBron James‘ leadership. The Cavs did not win even forty games in the previous five seasons before James was picked in 2003. During the 2002-03 season, Cleveland has a terrible record of 17-65 during the regular season. They were tied with Denver Nuggets for the worst team record in the NBA. The Cavs and the Nuggets had 22.5% odds of winning the first pick in the NBA lottery. 

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It was already clear that LeBron James was going to be the first choice for the pick. Thus, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a real shot of getting a young athlete like James on their side and turning things around after their disappointing season. However, LeBron’s future Cleveland teammates were not too excited about his arrival despite all the noise surrounding him. The major question that the critics and fans had was if LeBron James would be the savior for the Cavaliers or the Nuggets.

Former Cavs players were not thrilled about the inclusion of LeBron James

During an interview before the 2003 NBA drafts, several Cleveland players were asked to share their feelings about getting LeBron on the team. The former Cavs forward Carlos Boozer said, “We have better players than him in his position already on our team, but his potential is probably, sky is the limit for him though.” 

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However, Cavs guard Ricky Davis reckoned that LeBron would add the things that the Cavs needed to make things a bit easier. In addition, Darius Miles did not think that the team would simply turn around by putting some guys in. 

James makes himself a Cavalier Legend

The young kid from Akron made an immediate impact in his rookie season. James scored an average of 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game in 79 appearances during the 2003-04 season. The 18-time All-Star was also named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2004. James’ addition to the team had an immediate impact, with the Cavs winning 35 games in 2003-04 compared to just 17 wins in the previous season. 

Cleveland continued to improve and won 61 games in 2009-10 during the last season of LeBron James’ first stint. The four-time Finals MVP left the franchise in search of a championship and won two straight championship rings in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat.

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Eventually, James returned to the Cavs in 2014 and won the franchise its first-ever and only NBA championship in 2016. Thus, LeBron James proved his teammates wrong by becoming the greatest legend for the Cavs.