Welcome to A King's Reign, a multi-episode series all about the life, career and impact of LeBron James. Across the next two weeks here on The Athletic NBA Show, more than a dozen journalists from The Athletic will detail the highs and lows of LeBron's basketball life.

In episode 1, Joe Vardon charts LeBron's rise from an interesting local high school player to a generational basketball prospect. Then, Joe, The Athletic's Jason Lloyd and Tom Withers from the Associated Press discuss all the amazing moments from LeBron's high school and early Cleveland Cavaliers career.