LeBron began the summer after his sophomore year in Colorado Springs at the USA Basketball Development Festival. As the first underclassman ever invited to the camp, he surprisingly broke the festival scoring record with 120 points in five games and was named MVP.
He became widely known and his future was looking bright. Rumors stated that LeBron would be able to skip college completely and go directly to the National Basketball League. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan invited LeBron to join him in a workout, where he scrimmaged against Antoine Walker, Michael Finley, Juwan Howard and Penny Hardaway.
Next on LeBron's agenda were the 26th annual McDonald's All-American High School Boys Basketball Game at Gund Arena (Home of the Cavilers) and the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago. By playing in more than one all-star game, LeBron sealed his fate and made himself eligible for the NBA draft, which became known as the "LeBron Lottery."
In the NBA draft, his home town Cleveland recievd the top pick and immediately grabbed LeBron. Though his contract with the Cavs was slotted in by the league’s rookie salary structure, he had no worries about money. Estimates put his endorsement deals (with Nike, Coca-Cola and Upper Deck) at $100 million!!
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