CNN
—
Standing room only, fans around the block and social media coverage like never before, all there to see one man: a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
LeBron James is a living, breathing ticket salesman without even trying.
When he showed up in the Drew League — an annual summer pro-am league in California — in July for the first time since 2011, people turned out in droves.
James appeared alongside five-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan for the MMV Cheaters, recording 42 points, 16 rebounds and four steals as the Cheaters beat the Black Pearl Elite 104-102.
However, when clips of James’ surprise appearance hit social media, it was the player guarding him that grabbed the headlines.
Almost any person on the planet would have struggled to defend one of the greatest to ever play the sport. When Dion Wright checked Twitter afterwards and saw his face plastered all over, he had mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it was the culmination of a promise to his friends. “I’ve told my friends I like creating things, I’ve told them I’m going to go viral one day,” Wright told CNN Sport.
“I didn’t know how, but I told him, and they were just like, ‘Dion, you were absolutely right. You told us you were going to go viral one day.’”
On the other hand, the design of the reporting that he received annoyed him. Many of the videos in which James showcased his elite offensive repertoire were accompanied by allegedly humorous comments such as “You can see the fear in his eyes” directed at Wright.
But Wright says that despite guarding the biggest name in the NBA, he never feared.
“I was not afraid. I was just locked in,” Wright said.
“I was just trying to stop him. I just got caught up in the game. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I felt I made the best of my situation.”
It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
At first, Wright didn’t think James wouldn’t perform in the Drew League. He hadn’t appeared at the 1973 tournament in 11 years during the NBA lockout, so why show up now?
Wright was actually across the country for a completely different basketball tournament when his friends started texting him that James was showing up. But he was skeptical until he saw DeRozan’s tweet.
A simple crown – for “King James” – followed by the simple statement: “Drew League Tomorrow.”
Even then, Wright wasn’t convinced he should make the trip. His friends, however, were stubborn. “They said to me, ‘He’s probably never going to come back to the Drew in his life. You get a lot of attention for that. And that’s something you just have to do.’”
And so began the race against time from Buffalo, New York to Los Angeles in time to face James and DeRozan for Black Pearl Elite, a team he’s been a regular for for a number of years.
Luckily his journey was without hiccups. After purchasing a ticket, his flight landed in LA around 11am, with the game starting around 1pm, giving him just enough leeway to arrive on time.
Wright describes the atmosphere at King-Drew Magnet High School upon his arrival as “surreal.”
“Like it didn’t even feel real. I really felt like I was in the NBA getting ready for a game,” said Wright, who has played abroad in Japan, Cyprus, Israel and Ukraine in recent years.
“I feel like LeBron James and it’s just a few players that could shut down the whole city. People were out from about 6am trying to get into the game like it was packed at the gym. There was standing room only. It was just so noisy there and the environment was great.”
Drew League commissioner Dino Smiley told NBA.com that about 2,500 fans attended the game, much more than the 1,300 capacity.
When the MMV cheaters finally took on the Black Pearl elite, Wright volunteered for the most difficult task possible – guarding James.
“I told my friends, ‘I’ll guard him.’ I always want to play against the best players,” he explained. “I’m not running from my competition, I feel like competition, it brings out the best in people.
“And I felt like pretty much everyone else had their match-up. And I just said to myself, ‘I’m going to guard LeBron James, whatever happens. I have to at least try.’”
Immediately after the tip, Wright knew he was fighting it.
“It’s just like this is by far the best player I’ve ever played against in my life. He was so strong, so athletic. And he really is worth all the money he makes. He is a once-in-a-lifetime player.”
Despite Wright’s best defensive efforts, James managed to amass 42 points and understandably grabbed the headlines. “Nobody can really stop this man,” he said.
But Wright’s Black Pearl Elite lost by just two points, with Wright himself scoring over 20 points in the loss.
Despite being the subject of memes online questioning his confidence and basketball skills, the experience was “by far… [a] positive” for Wright, he says.
And he says he took a lot from the day as a whole. “I’ve gained a lot of confidence now just from playing against him.”
He added: “I just thank God that I was able to do something like this in my life. Some people would never live to see what I did and I just want to thank the man above for giving me this opportunity.
“I’ll probably never see that type of player again unless I go to the NBA.”