LeBron James has won 4 MVP titles in the NBA. Two of it was for the city of Cleveland. However, would you be surprised to know that he won an MVP in Cleveland way before in 2003? James’ heroics started before he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was the McDonald’s All-American game, which gave him quite the fame and the hype before he entered the NBA. His stellar display got him an MVP in the All-American game, but a former Detroit Pistons star believes James did not deserve the MVP. 

Charlie Villanueva, an 11-year NBA veteran joined a YouTube podcast where he revealed, “If you go back to the game, just watch the game, they play it from time to time. You can always go to YouTube and watch the game. Man, I was winning MVP the whole way. I was winning. They sat me out the fourth quarter bro.“ LeBron James led the team ‘East’ in the 2003 McDonald’s All-American game. He scored 27 points, shooting 50% from the field. 

However, at the same time, there was Charlie Villanueva, who finished the game with 17 points, shooting 58% from the field. Importantly, he was benched for the majority of the fourth quarter. Villanueva shared, “I played a little bit, but then…he[James] took off. He went crazy at fourth quarter. And then they gave him the MVP.” Villanueva wanted to be on the court for a longer time. Who knows, maybe he could have got the MVP! 

Villanueva had a shot at the MVP, but there was no chance for him when he faced James in another McDonald’s All-American contest.

LeBron James put his peak athleticism on display during the All-American contest

The ‘West’ vs ‘East’ was not the only game that James shined in. He was amusing to watch in the All-American dunk contest too. James’s dunk were not too fancy, but that was the first time the world got to know about his freaky athleticism. Off the backboard, sledgehammer, windmill, and whatnot. James gave all this variety when he was just 18 years old. Notably, Charlie Villanueva was also one of the contestants in this dunk contest.

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However, as mentioned above, he stood no chance against the King. James is still dunking all over the rim at 39 years of age. Villanueva mentioned the Lakers superstar’s longevity in the above podcast too. He hilariously shared, “He is still going at a high level, still breaking records and s**t. Well, my a** doing interviews right now”. Villanueva is the same age as James, but 4 months older. That shows us why LeBron James is the King!