LeBron James: 'Jason Kidd, Moses Malone, Ken Griffey Jr., and Gary Payton were in my corner when I first came out of the draft'

Q: You spent time with Moses Malone before your first NBA game and, unlike other players who did not embrace you, he was always supportive. Were there any other players who supported you like that? LeBron James: The best guys that were in my corner when I first came out of the draft were J-Kidd, Moses Malone, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Payton. Every time I saw them, it was just always love and support. There was no hating. Obviously I don't know what they did behind closed doors, but I can say that when I see them, still to this day -- except the late, great Moses -- it's been the same energy every single time. That meant a lot because I grew up watching Griff, wanting to be great like Griff in my respective sport. Watching GP and J-Kidd, watching those guys. Having respect for the legacy of the older guys, and Moses, of course I didn't watch him when I was a kid, but I knew what legends brought to the game. And it was probably a couple more guys, but I know those four guys were there if I needed to talk to them. If I needed to reach out to them, if I needed something, they were always respectful and were an open book. So that was pretty dope for me, being a kid from Akron.

ESPN

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: LeBron James: 'Jason Kidd, Moses Malone, Ken Griffey Jr., and Gary Payton were in my corner when I first came out of the draft'