A viral clip claiming to show a 16-year-old LeBron James dunking on Michael Jordan has sent the basketball world into a frenzy. The resurfaced footage from 2001 seems plausible, but the truth behind the video is not what it seems.

Courtside Buzz X reshared a blurry clip that seems to show a young LeBron dunking on Michael Jordan back in 2001. And honestly, the timeline checks out, especially since many, including LeBron himself, have long claimed he was dominating NBA veterans at just 16.

“I was 16 years old… I was on the court with Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, and Michael Finley,” said James during his conversation on the New Heights podcast.

When Travis Kelce asked who guarded him, James replied, “Nobody. I was unguardable.”

So, is the clip real? Well, while it’s true that LeBron did play against Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Penny Hardaway, Ron Artest, and Paul Pierce back in the summer of ’01, it happened during an invite-only, closed-door run in Chicago.

But the man in the clip is not LeBron James. The clip, which is being shared, is from a 1999 run by Michael Jordan, and the player shown is Cedric Moodie, not James.

The timeline proves it couldn't be LeBron. That said, the clip certainly brought some serious backlash from the fans.

Fans call out the viral clip about LeBron dunking on Michael Jordan

"Only LeBron fans would lie like that. Because they have to make a case for their hero," said a fan. Many people, including Antoine Walker, have already publicly said that LeBron was the best player during the 2001 runs, so the fake clip isn't needed to prove his achievements.

"That's not LeBron," another commenter said. The clip is from a 1999 camp, predating LeBron's legendary 2001 runs by two years—a timeline discrepancy that made the false attribution obvious to anyone fact-checking.

"That's Cedric Moodie," said another person. Moodie, who played for Ball State, was really in the 1999 footage finishing around Jordan, but the wrong attribution took away his credit and spread false information to millions of people on social media.

Another user questioned the mislabeling, asking: "Why are you all overshadowing this child?" The viral mislabeling took away from Moodie's real achievement and was like the Jordan Crawford case from 2009, where disputed footage made up stories instead of clearing up basketball history.

"Not LeBron, and that footage is so old," another fan wrote. There is no video evidence of LeBron's actual performances in 2001, but many people who were there say he dominated NBA veterans during those closed-door pickup games.”

While LeBron has not made any statement on the clip, ‘The King’ isn’t entirely off base. Although no footage of him playing with Jordan exists, it is true that he did share the court with him.

What do you think of this viral hoax? Leave a comment below and let us know if you've seen the original Cedric Moodie video.

Read more at Air Jordan Chronicles!

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Utsav Gupta