Lil Wayne has been in the entertainment and sports world for a while, and he now recalls the first time he met LeBron James when the phenom was still in high school.
To celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary and the NBA season about to kick off, TNT caught up with Weezy earlier this week to find out how King James wanted to join forces with him at a show in Ohio while on tour with Ja Rule.
The former Hot Boys rapper credited Birdman’s brother Slim for bringing James onto his radar and connecting with them in the early 2000s.
“I played a show in Ohio and toured with Ja (Rule),” he began. “Birdman’s brother Slim called me and he said, ‘I found a player in Ohio. I want to come to your show. He’s going to be the guy. I’m telling you Wayne, he’s young of Michael Jordan.”
“I thought, ‘What? He’s a high school player. Can he still come to the show? And then I had to remind myself, I’m in high school, too.”
Wayne remembers Juelz Santana — whose real name, fun fact, is LaRon James — stopped by the show that day and they kept LeBron waiting outside for over an hour.
“When I came downstairs, the man was still downstairs in Suburban. He had three of the four brothers with him,” Weezy continued. “I was like, ‘This guy? ‘I remember his arm was in a cast and they were protecting it, as people could see. That just tells me oh, he must be someone.
“I will never forget that he had the best time of his life. I remember that night, I remember that night. It was an unforgettable time.”
Wayne recalled his first interaction with LeBron, below:
first @LilTunechi meet @KingJames 🐐 pic.twitter.com/nPWo2Ps6vR
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) October 24, 2023
LeBron and Lil Wayne have crossed paths many times over the years, and he now plays for Weezy’s beloved Los Angeles Lakers.
Back in June, Wayne admitted that he now has James surpassing Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time, noting the length of his illustrious career.
Lil Wayne, LeBron James and more explore the special connection between hip-hop and the NBA in mini-doc
“I’ve grown up and know how hard it is to do it back to back. So that’s where he got my respect and started getting my respect until he became the greatest.
“It’s hard to do, and n-gga Brown did it on three different teams,” Lil Wayne said. all the smoke.
“Right there, even though he didn’t score six points, he did it on three different teams. He didn’t play a secondary role on those damn teams. “That’s what made him a I think it’s better than Jordan. “