In basketball, there will always be top prospects among the youth. Some make it as stars in the NBA, just as everyone predicts. Some end up as busts, with forgettable careers, while some never make it to the league at all.

One such name was Lenny Cooke, widely known as the No. 1 prospect in the country during the high school days of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. On Instagram, James recently shared a post containing footage of him playing against Cooke back in the day.

Cooke's fall from stardom

Cooke's downfall can be described by many as the result of a big ego and an attitude problem. The full Instagram post saw footage of a young Cooke stating that Anthony was an “alright” player.

Another part of the clip also showed the youngster asking Kobe Bryant “When are you going to play me?” as a fearless challenge to the Black Mamba. The latter part of the post, however, showed James defeating Cooke's team by drilling a 35-foot shot at the buzzer.

What could be defined as the start of Cooke's downward spiral was his early declaration for the NBA Draft. Despite being heavily recruited by several universities to play in the NCAA, the young prospect let himself be swayed towards the big league by wrongful advice from his agents at that time. It proved to be a huge mistake, as no team gave Cooke a chance during the 2002 draft.

Going undrafted, he eventually ended up playing in minor leagues and overseas. Despite being given a chance by the Boston Celtics in the 2003 summer league, Cooke failed to make the team. After two Achilles tendon injuries overseas, Lenny Cooke decided to call it a career, letting go of his NBA dream once and for all.