LeBron James used to bring his birth certificate along to AAU games to prove his age.
``They questioned me because of the level of my game,'' the Cleveland Cavaliers forward recalled last week. "I've always played the game above my age."
PHOTO: AP
Then maybe he should keep documentation of his Dec. 30, 1984, arrival handy.
There remain a few NBA skeptics, who are still having hard time accepting that a 19-year-old kid who skipped college could possibly be this big, this strong, this fast, this unselfish or this good.
"I don't believe that," Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers joked recently when told James was still weeks away from his 20th birthday. "I'm going to check. The way he's playing, he's got to be 30."
LeBron hits the big 2-0 today and, hard to believe, he has already joined the NBA's elite.
"I don't call him King James," said Minnesota forward Kevin Garnett, the reigning league MVP. "I call him The Gift. A gift for Cleveland, and for the league."
In just his second season in the pros, James has raised his game to an All-Star level.
After scoring 40 points with nine rebounds and seven assists in a 111-102 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday night, he's averaging 25.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and leading the league in steals (72) while carrying the surprising and soon-to-be-sold Cavaliers (17-11) into first place in the Central Division.
"He's doing everything for us," Cleveland coach Paul Silas said. "We certainly wouldn't be where we are without him. To be this young and have the understanding of the game that he has is just unreal. I marvel at him."
So does the rest of the league.
He has delivered jaw-dropping dunks, including a slam against Charlotte where the 2.03m, 108km caught a pass in full stride on the break, elevated to eye level with the rim and jackhammered the ball through.
He's sharing both the spotlight and ball with his teammates, who sometimes aren't ready for one of the creative no-look passes that James seems to relish more than making any shot. His defense has improved from a year ago when he ran into every pick, and he rarely forces shots the way he did as a rookie.
In the first third of the season, James has dropped a career-high 43 points on the world champion Detroit Pistons, become the youngest player to reach 500 career assists and rebounds and was named the Eastern Conference's top player for November.
Lately, he has been flirting with an elusive first career triple-double. In a win over New Orleans on Sunday, James had 22 points, a career-high 14 assists and nine rebounds. He and Kobe Bryant are the only players averaging more than 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
"He might average a triple-double someday," Silas said. "In two or three years, when he learns the game better, he'll be unstoppable."
James, who shares a birthday with Tiger Woods, seems to improve each time he laces up his signature Nike Air Zoom LeBron II's.
"A great basketball player can beat you different ways -- defensively, offensively, rebounding the ball, passing and blocking shots," Garnett said last week after James posted 26 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in a win over the Timberwolves. "He totally illuminates all those qualities. He is a credit to the game."
All of James' personal stats are significantly ahead of last year's pace when he finished as the just third rookie in league history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.
But Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan were both in their early 20s when they did it.
Beyond the basketball, there is the business of LeBron.
He has almost single-handedly resurrected the Cavaliers, whose market value has skyrocketed since he bounced to them in the lottery. Things are going so well for owner Gordon Gund that he's on the verge of selling the club to Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert for a reported US$375 million.
The deal is expected to be completed in 2005 when the Cavaliers, barring an unforeseen collapse, will return to the playoffs for the first time since 1998 when James was a fresh-faced 14-year-old.
LeBron James had 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Atlanta Hawks 111-102 Tuesday night for their third victory in four games.
James became the youngest player to reach 500 career assists and rebounds. Jeff McInnis and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points each for Cleveland.
Al Harrington led Atlanta with a season-high 31 points.
Bucks 115, Rockets 87
In Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 28 points and Desmond Mason added 24 for Milwaukee.
Marcus Fizer added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks. The point total was the most for the Bucks, who had 110 in a double-overtime loss to Miami on Nov. 14.
Tracy McGrady led Houston with 20 points, and Bob Sura added 19. Milwaukee limited Yao Ming to 10 points.
Spurs 115, Suns 94
In San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 29 points in just 30 minutes, and San Antonio shot 52 percent in ending Phoenix's 11-game winning streak.
Amare Stoudemire scored 37 points for the Suns,
Tim Duncan had 16 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio. Malik Rose had 16 points and Manu Ginobili 13 for the Spurs, who limited Phoenix to a season-low 39.7-percent shooting.
Nets 84, Bulls 80
In Chicago, Vince Carter scored 25 points to lead New Jersey in his second game back since straining his Achilles' tendon and second since he was traded to the Nets.
On Monday, he limped off the court with 2:13 left in overtime in New Jersey's 100-90 loss to Detroit.
Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic had 17 points apiece for the Nets. Kirk Hinrich had 30 points for Chicago and Ben Gordon 19.
Mavericks 113, Celtics 94
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Michael Finley added 21 points for the Mavericks.
Erick Dampier matched his season-high with 16 points and Jason Terry had a season-high 14 assists for Dallas.
Paul Pierce and Jiri Welsch had 17 points each to pace the Celtics, who have lost eight of their last nine meetings with Dallas.
76ers 114, SuperSonics 107
In Seattle, Allen Iverson scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Philadelphia won its third straight game.
The NBA's leading scorer made 13 of 30 shots and had seven assists. Willie Green scored a season-high 20 points for the 76ers.
Ray Allen had 32 points for the Northwest Division-leading Sonics. Luke Ridnour added 16 points and nine assists.
Lakers 117, Raptors 99
In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 48 points in 46 minutes after spraining his left shoulder in the opening period, and the Lakers had their highest-scoring game of the season.
Los Angeles was coming off a 104-102 overtime loss to Miami on Christmas Day, in which Bryant had 42 points.
Jeff Bzdelik was fired Tuesday as coach of the Denver Nuggets, who are on a six-game losing streak and struggling despite the addition of Kenyon Martin this season.
Assistant Michael Cooper was appointed interim coach.
Denver was expected to move near the top of the Western Conference after signing Martin, an All-Star power forward. So far, however, the Nuggets have been hurt by injuries and inconsistency.
The Nuggets started the season without power forward Nene and have used 10 different starting lineups, with star forward Carmelo Anthony missing the past five games with a sprained ankle.
Shooting guard Voshon Lenard, Denver's only legitimate outside shooting threat, was lost for the season with a torn Achilles' tendon in the opener. Denver is 13-15 so far this season.
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