The lines began to form around 7 a.m. Saturday outside King/Drew Magnet High, the anticipation building for the arrival of Lakers superstar LeBron James to display his talents in the famed Drew League in South Los Angeles.
James wasn’t scheduled to play until 1:45 p.m., but way before he took the court, a feeling of excitement was palpable inside the jam-packed, standing-room gym from 11 a.m. on for those waiting to see him play in one of the best pro-am leagues in the country.
Before James arrived, former Clippers and Lakers center Montrezl Harrell played in an earlier game, doing his thing from inside and outside with a three-point shot. But when he saw all the cameras and reporters after his game, he asked where they were for the previous weeks of games.
“I’ve been here for four weeks. Where ya’ll been?” said Harrell, who played last season with the Charlotte Hornets. “What’s up with that?”
A fan overheard Harrell’s questions and had an answer.
“Hey, it’s LeBron James, man. We all came to see him,” the fan yelled.
And James did not disappoint, notching 42 points, 16 rebounds and four steals while playing alongside Chicago Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan, a former star from Compton High and USC who plays in the Drew League every summer.
There was a gasp from the fans when James took and missed his first shot, the excitement growing.
When he made his second shot, a three-pointer, the crowd roared.
There was plenty more to come from James, who hadn’t played in the Drew League since 2011.
After the game, James was whisked away, a towel wrapped around his shoulders and a mob of people still trying to get at least one more look at him. He didn’t speak to reporters afterward but posted his gratitude on social media.
“Thank you @DrewLeague!!” James wrote on his Twitter account. “Loved the energy from start to finish!” He also wrote it was “all for the city” and inserted an angel emoji along with several others of gratitude.
There had been talk that Kyrie Irving was going to play in the 11 a.m. game Saturday, but he was a no-show.
It didn’t matter.
James was there, and that was more than enough for the enthusiastic fans.
“The day was crazy. A guy everybody wanted to come watch, it was already packed early in the morning,” said Casper Ware Jr., a former Drew League MVP and local star who played at Cerritos Gahr High and Long Beach State. “I [was] trying to find a way to get people in, my close friends and all this and a lot of them couldn’t even get in. He just brought that type of atmosphere where there’s no room on the baseline to stand or anywhere. It’s just the energy he brings everywhere he goes.”
Times staff writer Luca Evans contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
