It’s no sеcrеt that LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are good buddies in the NBA. But now that they’re older, Anthony has revealed how their friendship began when they were teenagers.

They got into a lot of on-court arguments over the years, but their friendship off the court remained strong despite their rivalry. While appearing on the Shotime show “All the Smoke,” Melo related the incidents that happened while they were in high school. There was already a rivalry between the two young prospects at the time due to expectations surrounding them. “LeBron was a student at Oak Hill Academy the previous year when I arrived.” It’s on the schedule, therefore I have to play against him, I thought to myself. “We have to make sure it succeeds,” suggested Anthony. “Melo, are you here when we get to the hotel after the prime-time shootout and get the jersey? Yes, indeed! And in Philadelphia, it was All-Star weekend. Besides, before that competition, we sat on the steps for hours on end.

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“You don’t know anything about me, and neither of us knows anything about the other.” After that, we just felt like we had similar backgrounds because we had a broken family home and were raised in the same neighborhood. So we got to know each other before basketball. “I was looking for a relationship that was similar to a brotherhood.”

Ever since their historic first meeting, the two have remained close friends. There was a great deal of controversy in 2003 when the first overall choice in the draft was predicted. LeBron was finally chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Melo was chosen by the Denver Nuggets at third overall. The friends are once again coworkers and will start for the Los Angeles Lakers in the same lineup for the upcoming season after nearly twenty years apart. After much waiting, Anthony and James have finally arrived at the point where their paths will eventually intersect.