LeBron James may be 36 years old, but the Los Angeles Lakers star remains one of the most dominant players in the NBA today. In fact, he continues to give rookies nightmares, just like what Memphis Grizzlies freshman Desmond Bane experienced.
In an interview with Quenton Albertie of Slam Online, Bane shared how the Lakers forward gave him his “Welcome to the NBA” moment. The Grizzlies rookie noted that it was in their first game against the Purple and Gold that he realized how tough it is to guard the four-time champion and NBA MVP.
Right! Bron! For sure! Bron!
I mean the first time that we played the Lakers. We played the Lakers about, I would say, five games, six games into the season, so it was still early on, I’m getting a feel for things. And we had played I think maybe one playoff team—one or two playoff teams—and, you know, they were coming off a championship and being hungry for another one.
I think that that was my real “Welcome to the NBA” moment.
There was stretches when I guarding LeBron and I was like man, “this dude is so damn big. Shit crazy.”
Desmond Bane is not the first player to get his “Welcome” moment from LeBron James, and it is unlikely he'll be the last.
After a failed title defense with the Lakers this 2021, LeBron is expected to bounce back big time come the 2021-22 campaign. With that said, the upcoming rookie class of 2021 should get their fair share of LeBron experience.
Bane, for his part, had a pretty solid first season with the Grizzlies. He averaged 9.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The 23-year-old also started in 17 games for Memphis, establishing himself as a key player for the squad as they made the playoffs.
Hopefully, next season we get to see Bane do a better job and not get overwhelmed in guarding LeBron when the Grizzlies play the Lakers.
