LeBron James received a potentially life-changing gift on Christmas Day in 1987.
Back then the future Lakers star was a three-year-old budding hooper with big dreams of one day making it to the NBA.
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It all began for NBA legend James on Christmas Day in 1987Credit: Getty
We all know how that story played out as James went on to become one of the greatest basketball players ever.
It’s hard to pinpoint when that incredible journey started, but Christmas Day 1987 could well be the watershed moment after LeBron received a children’s basketball hoop from Santa that year.
An incredible throwback photo of the moment went viral over Christmas last year and James even took the time to walk us back down memory lane.
He responded to the picture on Instagram while providing part of the amusing backstory.
“Merry Xmas!,” he wrote over the photo.
“Mom’s tried lowering the rim and I went (apes***)!! She put it back at the highest it could go! Only child chronicles.”
Fans were loving the photo with some joking that the present provided the greatest return on investment in the history of mankind.
“Dude has been in beast mode right from childhood,” one fan said.
“LeBron is so legendary, this picture goes hard,” another wrote.
“He knew at a young age he would be the GOAT,” a third added.
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LeBron shared the throwback picture to his InstagramCredit: x TWITTER @SPORTSCENTER
“He knew at a young age he would be the GOAT,” a fourth responded.
James has played on Christmas Day more than any other player in NBA history.
In 2024 he will added to his own record by playing in his 19th Christmas Day contest against the Golden State Warriors.
And that comes after he hit an impressive milestone against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night (December 23).
The Lakers star nailed a shot from behind the arc in the first half to move ahead of five-time NBA Champion Derek Fisher to second on the team’s all-time three-pointers list.
He has now made 847 triples for the Lakers in six seasons with the team.
The only player left for James to pass on the list is the legendary Kobe Bryant – but his record of 1,827 for LA may be one that is never touched.
Ahead of his Christmas day showdown with the Warriors and fellow legend Stephen Curry, LeBron admitted that he doesn’t know how many more opportunities he will have to face ‘one of the greatest ever’.
“Any time you get an opportunity to be on the court and compete vs one of the greatest to ever play this game, you don’t take it for granted,” he told reporters.
“I don’t know how many more opportunities will get to go against each other, so it’s always fun.”
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Curry and LeBron will go head-to-head on Christmas DayCredit: Getty
The Lakers head into their Christmas Day game with a record of 16-13 this season, and currently sit seventh in the Western Conference.
