Although LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are two historical names in NBA history, their history was created before the league. The revelation came to light during Melo’s recent appearance on The Tonight Show. The host, Jimmy Fallon, revealed a photo from the first game that Anthony and James clashed in. Yep, back in 2002, when the now NBA stars were playing high school basketball.

Recollecting the game, Anthony said, “I think, if I remember correctly, that was one of the first high school games. Basketball. That was actually televised. ESPN. I want to say that. So it was a lot riding on that game.” The ex-Knicks also clarified that, while the two of them had met before at the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival, this was their first time competing against each other on a nationally televised stage.

“But that night before the game was just something where it was just a synergy there… It was a moment where we actually had. We stopped and we thought about, like, we had two young black males about to go play on Sports Center… We don’t even know what’s happening over here…” Melo said on the show. The two stars, however, realized the opportunity they were getting. ESPN was televising their game, afterall.

“But we get to go out there and we get to go compete. So the same thing I told him in the Olympics in that gold medal game, ‘Let’s give them what they came to see.'”, he further added. And yes, LeBron James from St. Vincent-St. Mary playing against Melo’s Oak Hill Academy was the first-ever high school game on ESPN, as confirmed by the info on Paragon Marketing Group. The reason behind this was revealed in an article by ESPN’s very own Jay Bilas.

He stated in his article that Bron’s ability, talent and potential, back in this game, deserved the coverage of national media outlets. But he did not stop there. Bilas highlight that James by then had become capable enough to be scouted by professionals, coveted by marketers, and pursued by game promoters and companies who wanted a next Michael Jordan or Allen Iverson for them.

Apart from this, this game also laid the foundation on which James and Anthony built their friendship. If you have followed Bron and Melo from their early days, you’d know the stars were pitted against each other by media outlets. Bet even before they met on the court, an earlier meeting worked its charm.

Carmelo Anthony reveals the origin story of his age old friendship with LeBron James

The ex-New York Knicks star shared the story on All the Smoke, taking us back to the aforementioned high school game. Back when they were just two young prospects with big dreams. And even bigger expectations — riding on them. “When I got to Oak Hill [Academy], LeBron had been there the year before,” Melo recalled. “I’m thinking, ‘I gotta play against him; it’s in the schedule. We gotta make it happen.'”

The anticipation was already building, and fans couldn’t wait to see these rising stars face off. But the real spark happened the night before their game, at a hotel during the All-Star weekend in Philly. Anthony remembers their first exchange vividly: “We see each other, and he’s like, ‘You Melo?’ ‘Yeah!’ Next thing you know, we’re sitting on the steps, talking for hours.”

This was how the two future stars realized they had more in common than they thought: from similar backgrounds to broken families to growing up in the hood. “We found a brotherhood before the basketball part even mattered,” Anthony said. And it wasn’t just ESPN history created from the game, but a friendship, seemingly, for life.