The current player of the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James debuted on American national television on December 12, 2002 against his now great friend and at that time rival of the 2003 draft Carmelo Anthony. The duel was on the ESPN 2 channel. Both sports careers have gone hand in hand and currently they are the only active players from that 2003 draft, although Carmelo finds himself without a team after the Lakers cut him.
Both players stood out from their early years in basketball, matching all the media spotlights in their high school days until their arrival in the NBA. They have shared a dressing room in the United States team, where they have won Olympic gold in Beijing and London, among other achievements, and in the Los Angeles Lakers in this final stretch of their sporting life.
LeBron, born in Akron, defended the colors of the St. Vincent St. Mary High School and Carmelo, born in Brooklyn, those of OAK Hill. After a first meeting, on February 10, 2002, their paths met and captured the attention of basketball lovers and filled a pavilion with 11,000 people.
The man from Ohio finished the game with 36 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but an Afro-haired Anthony held up by his characteristic band bagged the victory, as well as scoring 34 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Basketball has wanted a new sporting confrontation between the two to happen again, this time with their children as protagonists. Bronny James vs. Kiyan Anthony, Sierra Canyon vs. Christ The King. LeBron’s eldest son has taken his revenge and his team has won 62-51 in a more discreet match than that of the already NBA legends.
Bronny had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists in what is being his last year of high school before entering college. Instead, Kiyan Anthony, who is only 15 years old, finished the game with eight points, two rebounds and two assists.
In the squad of the Californian team, Sierra Canyon, the youngest son of the King is also standing out, Bryce James, also 15 years old and who is already beginning to dazzle and of whom his followers point out that he is more similar to his father’s game than his brother.
Leaving aside the competitiveness of the two teams on the court, the match has served as a tribute to the impeccable career of LeBron and Carmelo. The friendly relationship between these two was latent in the first rows of the parquet. The king continually giving instructions, as he is used to in the meetings of his children, and the legendary Knicks player with a lower profile.
Both players posted photos with their children on social media, referring to terms like “legacies” and “family.” In addition, the eldest of the James was in charge of giving the match more mystique when, with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter, he made a robbery in his own court and crossed the entire field to finish with a dunk, a play very similar to the one he made LeBron 20 years ago.
History has repeated itself, but this time the James family has emerged victorious. Bronny will go to college next year, but who knows if the final outcome of this saga will face Kiyan Anthony and Bryce James, just as happened with their parents.
