LeBron James watched his future play out in real time.And the future King received timely wisdom from His Airness. LeBron James enjoyed his NBA return, 22 years after meeting Michael Jordangetty“The burning desire to become the best, how did that come about?” said an 18-year-old James, while staring up at Michael Jordan.Grainy video footage was recently revealed showing a young James sitting inside a gym with a group of basketball players.As the NBA‘s future all-time leading scorer received his chance to ask a question, Jordan stood across the court while wearing the No. 23 on his chest and sporting North Carolina-like light blue colors.“This is basically a time travel photo of the GOAT in training asking the GOAT what the training regimen is,” one fan tweeted. “History lesson captured.” “Coolest thing I’ve seen in awhile,” a second fan wrote. “People gotta see this vid more. Greatness meets greatness,” a third fan said.James is 40-years-old now and just made his 2025-26 season debut with the Los Angeles Lakers. The native of Akron, Ohio scored 11 points and dished out 12 assists during 30 minutes of court time in the Lakers’ 140-126 home win over the Utah Jazz.Luka Doncic continued his MVP run by scoring a game-high 37 points, while Los Angeles improved to 11-4 and sits in fourth place in the Western Conference.But before James was a 21-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion, he was an 18-year-old getting one chance to ask Jordan a question.A teenage James met Michael Jordan and history was madegettyLeBron James asked Michael Jordan a deep question – and got a powerful responseHaving no idea that James would eventually become The King, Air Jordan responded with a thoughtful answer.“My passion for the game,” Jordan said. “My desire to get as close as I can to perfection. Listen to your coaches. Listen to the media, to some degree, because you’re going to hear a lot of criticism about your game.”The six-time NBA champ added: “Work your way up to the top. When you got to the top, I knew what the bottom looked like — I never wanted to go back to the bottom.”James has averaged 24.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists since entering the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers.Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists after being the No. 3 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls.The King recalled another time when he crossed paths with Air Jordan.Ranking the best teams in NBA history3. 1991-92 Chicago Bulls (67-15 record, 15-7 playoffs)The first of Michael Jordan’s three-peats went 67-15 in the regular season, then faced several tough playoff tests.But nothing was getting in the way of Air Jordan and a third world title, as the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers were pushed aside.This era featured Horace Grant, John Paxson, Bill Cartwright and B.J. Armstrong.Jordan and Scottie Pippen both finished in the top three in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.With the star duo averaging more than 50 combined points a night, nothing was getting in Chicago’s way.talkSPORT ranks the greatest teams in NBA historyIn the summer of 2001, James was working his way toward the NBA while Jordan was on the verge of returning from his second retirement to join the Washington Wizards.The brief interaction left a lasting impact on the future Laker. “I was like, ‘Oh my f****** God,’ ” James said. “I didn’t think it was real, man. You don’t understand. I didn’t think Michael Jordan was real. I only thought he lived in the TV. “When I saw him, I was like, if the man above would have taken me that day, I would’ve lived a hell of a life, I swear to God.”Two of the biggest names in the sports world reconnected at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, when they were recognized for the league’s 75th anniversary.The King and Air Jordan crossed paths for the NBA’s 75th anniversarygettyJames made the winning shot in the game, via a fadeaway jumper that was inspired by Jordan.“I did not want to lose the opportunity to shake the man’s hand that inspired me throughout my childhood,” James said.“I haven’t had much dialogue with him in my 20 years or 19 years in this business, but part of me wouldn’t be here without MJ’s inspiration. I always wanted to be like him growing up.”“It’s crazy that the game-winning shot tonight was a fadeaway, and it was inspired by MJ,” James added. “The way he wore his shoes, the way he wore his uniform, I mean, all the way down to some of the cars that he drove, how much he inspired me. I didn’t want to waste that opportunity because we’re just not in — we’re not in the same building a lot and haven’t been in the same building a lot throughout my career. It meant something to me.”They shared the same court when James was 18, and The King learned about the ‘burning desire’ of all-time greatness from Air Jordan. Stay up to date with the latest from the NBA across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.