The Climb Obvious statement: LeBron is a phenom and Steph is not. At 16-years-old LeBron James has already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He’s been appointed the chosen one and it’s a forgone conclusion that the moment he receives his high school diploma he will be a multi-millionaire. Fifteen years later and he has lived up to every expectation that fans have placed on him. Did he have to work hard to get to where he is today? Yes. Did he have his own amount of adversity? Yes. Has he earned everything he’s received? Yes, but no one earns the right have the body of a grown man by the time they are 16. He has gifts that very few have had before him. No one ever told him he was too small or just not good enough when it came to sports.