Every day I feel a little bit older.
I was 19 years old back then (I graduated a year before LeBron) and I remember that evening quite well. In fact, as a Pistons fan, I also remember LeBron's first first game, which was his preseason debut against Detroit at the Palace.
Some personal NBA cliff notes at the time:
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LeBron's preseason debut was also [Darko's preseason debut[(https://youtu.be/KJ_eLleTfLM). At the time, it was easy to write off his missteps as a case of a teenager trying to find his way but in hindsight, the warning signs were pretty clear right from the jump.
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The 2003-04 season had sense of renewal. Not only were guys like LeBron, Melo, Wade, and Bosh coming through ready to roll but I also remember the Nuggets and Cavs in particular bringing fresh new jerseys in alongside them.
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I was a 2K guy back then, even though Live was wayyy more popular. Unfortunately, NBA 2K4 (aka ESPN NBA Basketball 2004) was awful on account of trying to emulate Live's street savvy aesthetics. 2K3 was an amazing NBA simulation for its time then one year later this was happening.