LeBron James receives the Powerade Jam Fest Slam Dunk Champion Award (created by Xcetera) as part of the 2003 McDonald’s All American Game.

Three years ago, before he’d played a single official NBA game, a 19-year-old Cleveland Cavalier rookie named LeBron James stood on the famed parquet floor of Boston’s TD BankNorth Garden, slowly bouncing a basketball in his massive hands, and looked at the 16 NBA championship banners hanging from the rafters. “I need to get a couple of those,” he said, almost whimsically. Read the rest of this entry »