The LeBron James-Michael Jordan saga led to another conversation on social media today, when a video claiming that a young James once dunked on the Chicago Bulls legend went viral. Given that it seemed to be an old clip of Jordan in a workout session with young players, it was difficult to recognise the young boy in the video.
A user, BronsMind, shared the clip on X and wrote in the caption:
“SOMEONE LEAKED THE CLIP OF TEENAGE BRON DUNKING ON MICHAEL JORDAN”
However, as the caption of the video claimed, the boy in the clip is not LeBron James but a former American hooper from Canada’s National Basketball League (NBL), Cedric Moodie. The former shooting guard went undrafted in the 2002 NBA draft and then built a basketball profile in minor leagues. A fan revealed the real identity of the player in the comments and wrote:
“That’s not Lebron, that’s Cedric Moodie! I think you need to do more research”
On YouTube, the same clip was uploaded around 13 years ago, in 2012, the year King James was already a superstar and won his first championship with the Miami Heat. The video, however, showed what looked like an exhibition game of young and upcoming basketball talents from the country, along with the legend himself. Meanwhile, James also doesn’t shy away from encouraging future superstars.
“It’s Jordan-esque,” LeBron James compares OKC Thunder guard to Michael Jordan
Receiving a nod of honor from LeBron James is in itself bragging rights for any emerging young player in the league. However, this time, King James went a step further and called the OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander “Jordan-esque.” It is sure to give a sense of confidence to the Canadian superstar.
On the latest episode of his Mind the Game podcast, the 4-time NBA Finals MVP shared some high praise for SGA and his playing style. He said:
“Every time you look at the efficiency, you look at the box scores, and you see Shai 38, it’s like 13 for 17 from the floor, you know, the other night I think he had 40 something, I think it was like 15 for 19…I think that’s one of the things I love about Shai is just like for him to play on the perimeter as much as he does, playing at mid-range as much as he does and still be as super efficient as he is. It’s Jordan-esque.”
Even though Luka Doncic is his teammate and the LA Lakers’ biggest hope this season, James did not hesitate to give his flowers to SGA. The Thunder played their last matchup with the Lakers this season earlier and swept the season series (4-0). The Lakeshow were short-handed after missing Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James and lost the game 87-123. The Lakers will play three more games in the regular season.
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