Since it's impossible (for now at least) to travel back in time and alter the past, we've asked artificial intelligence (AI) to settle multiple “what if” scenarios to get a perspective of how different situations of events in the world of sports could have gone differently. There was the debate of how good LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant would be if they played in the 90s, who would win in a seven-game series between the 2017 Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls, and we even ranked the top 25 greatest players in NBA history.

In this experiment, we had ChatGPT simulate how James' entire career would have played out if the Cleveland Cavaliers passed on him and in the 2003 NBA Draft and the Detroit Pistons drafted him with the second overall pick instead.

What if LeBron James was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2003 NBA Draft?

At first glance, James joining a team that ended up winning a title a season later begs multiple questions. Would he still be in the GOAT conversation? Can a Pistons version of James be as good as Michael Jordan and surpass his number of championship rings?

When you ask AI, James joining a stacked team that had the likes of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace wouldn't have done much to change his scoring output. Through James' first few years, he's predicted to still average around 25 points per game, but one glaring change in his game as a Piston would be on the defensive end of the floor.

To go along with scoring 25 points, James also averages 1.5 blocks and nearly two steals a game. Just for reference, James has never averaged more than 1.5 blocks a game in his entire career. As of now, you can say that AI predicts that James would be an even better overall player if he was drafted by the Pistons. At the end of the day, though, stats mean nothing if it doesn't result in multiple championships.

How many titles would LeBron James win if he was drafted by the Pistons?

In real life, the Pistons only won one championship with their core, but if James were added to that mix, AI thinks they'd win at least five more and a dynasty would have been born. And since James' biggest reason for leaving Cleveland the first time was because he could never get over the hump, you could also say he'd have less incentive to leave the Motor City, which would make him a legendary figure in Detroit.

Regardless of which team James got drafted by, it's safe to assume he'd be as good as advertised wherever he'd go. The only question is the number of rings he'd have on his finger.