James a hit in return to Drew League
At 3 a.m. Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y., Dion Wright got a call that changed his entire day.
Mike Nwabuzor had blown up his phone, letting him know that Black Pearl Elite, their Drew League Team, would be going against LeBron James.
It took several sources to sway Wright. He had already seen messages in his group chat he had dismissed. His tune changed when he saw DeMar DeRozan — a Compton native and frequent Drew League competitor — hint that James would be playing on his team, MMV Cheaters.
“Right away,” Wright said, “I'm booking a flight early in the morning.”
A 6 a.m. flight from Buffalo got him in for the 2 p.m. game that saw James make a return to the South Central pro-am league for the first time since the 2011 lockout. James can count a 2020 Lakers title among the four NBA championships on his resume, but the Drew League is an entirely different system of credibility, where NBA players can find themselves on their heels against overseas pros like Wright trying to make a name for themselves.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, James was the best and most assertive player on the court, finishing with 42 points (on 18-for36 shooting), 16 rebounds, four steals and three assists — two of which were passes looped behind his back. James helped ensure a 104-102 win for the MMV Cheaters, who also got 30 points from DeRozan, against BPE, which had no NBA players at all.
It's the nature of things that a player like James, now in his 20th season with four league MVP awards and four Finals MVP awards, can squeeze out a tight game against smaller-name players. But Wright, who finished with 20 points and six rebounds with a few chest-thumping shots against DeRozan, said he'll live with the results.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I made the most of it tonight,” Wright said. “When I lay my head on my pillow, I can know that I gave it my all.”
The scene at King Drew Magnet High gym can, even on a typical weekend for the long-running summer league, be a bit rowdy. But Saturday's event — after James' appearance was reported the night before by Yahoo Sports — was positively packed.
The court wasn't so much defined by the sidelines and baselines as the mass of humanity tucked in several rows deep and all with phones in hand to snap pictures of The King. The starts of each half were delayed several minutes as security helplessly beckoned sardined spectators to inch their toes off the hardwood.
All told, there were several thousand people — NBA players Draymond Green and Montrezl Harrell and rapper Quavo among them — squeezed into the high school gym. At one point, the public address announcer asked rhetorically, “Why can't it be like this every weekend?”
James is used to crowds such as this and played up his part. During warm-ups, he threw down hammer dunks – an exhibition that continued into the game. He made back-to-back turnaround jumpers from the baseline. Perhaps no two moments from James generated more excitement than when he danced for the crowd coyly as halftime ended, or when he locked up Vince Camper on a late fourthquarter possession near midcourt.