Top high school basketball prospects Zion Williamson and LaMelo Ball went head-to-head late Wednesday night in an AAU basketball showdown at the jam-packed Cashman Center in Las Vegas. NBA stars like Damian Lillard, Andrew Wiggins and Ball’s older brother, Lonzo Ball, were in attendance to watch the two young studs’ matchup.
LeBron James tried to watch LaMelo Ball vs. Zion Williamson, but it was too crowded
There was no space for The King and his plus-13 to get to the court.
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
But the venue was so crowded, in fact, that LeBron James — the greatest living basketball player on planet Earth — and his crew of 13 were turned away by Adidas.
“I spoke to him; we shut him down,” Adidas marketing consultant Dan Cutler told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander. “Just safety of him coming and going. He was 13 deep. But him sitting there would have been fine; it’s just getting in and out.”
James showed up just before the 9 p.m. PT tipoff, per CBS, but about 1,500 people were already being turned away at the door. Why? Because more than 4,000 people inside surrounded court No. 5 to watch two high school juggernauts go toe-to-toe with peak attendance cramming the Center at 5,000 spectators.
LeBron knows the hype around being a highly recruited, highly touted high school basketball player all too well — he was one himself. In fact, Williamson donned this month’s cover of SLAM Magazine, something James did during his high school years as well.
It would have been only fitting for him to watch two of the best AAU has to offer square up on a basketball court.
In addition to the 5,000 in-house spectators, thousands of concurrent viewers tuned in online with a total live stream viewership of over 820,000. And for those standing either shoulder-to-shoulder or watching from the comfort of their bedrooms, Williamson and Ball put on a show.
Ball scored 31 points, shining through a night of questionable shot selection, including multiple failed shot attempts from near the halfcourt line. Williamson scored 28 points, darting out in transition to finish in coast-to-coast manner time and time again. In the end, Williamson’s SC Supreme AAU squad took down Big Baller Brand, 104-92, his head coach calling the shots from the sidelines with a cold-cocked toddler fast asleep in his arms.
For more highlights of the Ball-Williamson showdown, check out our Ricky O’Donnell’s write-up here.
See More:
