SI Vault Podcast: Jack McCallum on LeBron James's status and his future

Basketball Hall of Famer Jack McCallum joins SI senior editor Ted Keith on the SI Vault Podcast to discuss LeBron James's first season back in Cleveland, where he now ranks among the top players in NBA history and how much longer the King can stay on his throne atop the league.

Despite winning neither the regular season MVP award nor the NBA championship, LeBron James's first season back with the Cleveland Cavaliers only further cemented his standing as the best player in basketball. In the wake of James's dominant performance in the Cavs' six-game NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors last month, longtime Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, joined SI senior editor Ted Keith on the SI Vault Podcast to discuss the return of the King to Cleveland, how James compares now to the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, and how much longer James can stay at the top.

The podcast also includes a reading of McCallum's Oct. 27, 2003 cover story in SI, "You Gotta Carry That Weight," in which the author detailed the many obstacles facing the heavily-hyped 18-year-old prodigy as he prepared for his much-anticipated NBA debut.

For more from McCallum, including the chance to buy his book Dream Team, about the gold-medal winning 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team, click here. To listen to all of SI's podcasts, click here.