Lakers News: LeBron James Wishes He Could’ve Taken Part in March Madness

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James famously entered the NBA at age 18, when he was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a historic 2003 draft class. This decision to head to the NBA straight from high school meant that James was forgoing any opportunity to play college basketball.

James has previously shared that this decision did cause him to miss out on certain life experiences, like the general college experience or parties that many other people his age were attending. However, the experience James still feels like he missed out on the most is March Madness. With the NCAA Final Four taking place this Friday and Saturday, the tournament is extra prevalent in the cultural conversation right now.

“March Madness, right now, is the only time I think about playing college basketball. For 21 straight years," James told cohost J.J. Redick, himself a March Madness hero during his Duke days, on their new Mind The Game podcast.

The NCAA Tournament is of course the most exciting event in college basketball, bringing in the top players and programs all in one tournament to compete for the national championship. James revealed he's thought about missing out on this every year when the Big Dance has come around for the last 21 seasons.

While James missed out on March Madness, he's achieved many other feats that he might not have had he played college basketball. James has broken both the NBA scoring record, reached over 40,000 career points and broken the record for most consecutive All-Star appearances. There's a good chance he could have reached these in the future, especially if he only went to college for one year, but he might not have achieved them this soon.