Forgotten NBA star on cover with LeBron James was predicted to ‘rule the world’

Once upon a time, Sebastian Telfair had the world at his feet.

In 2000, Telfair and LeBron James were two of the most promising basketball prospects in the entire United States.

Brooklyn native Telfair was an eighth grader and James was a freshman when they first went head-to-head at the Adidas ABCD camp.

Afterwards, Telfair’s legend continued to grow on the rough and tough New York city basketball scene.

He led Lincoln High to three New York City championships and a state title and dazzled crowds with his quick handles and scoring prowess.

James, meanwhile, was already touted as the air apparent to Michael Jordan, and at 17 was plastered on the front cover of Sports Illustrated as the self-proclaimed ‘Chosen One.’

In 2002, SLAM Magazine brought Telfair and James together for the cover of ‘SLAM 62: The Takeover’.

‘Sebastian Telfair & LeBron James are about to rule the world. Imagine that,’ the iconic front cover read.

New York streetball icon Telfair was considered a five-star recruit in 2004 – the year after LeBron was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He was listed as the No. 2 point guard and No. 6 player in the nation and had committed to the University of Louisville to play for head coach Rick Pitino.

But, after a fatal shooting occurred at the apartment complex where his family lived, he decided to forgo college and head straight to the NBA. 

Telfair was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the thirteenth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

However, while The King was carving out a Hall of Fame career that includes four NBA titles, four MVPs, four Finals MVPs and the all-time scoring record, Telfair was bouncing around from team to team and struggling to make an impact.

He lasted two years in Portland before becoming the ultimate NBA journeyman, suiting up for the Celtics, Timberwolves, Clippers, Cavs, Timberwolves, Suns and Raptors.

He played a year in China in 2014 and briefly returned to The Association with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

OKC was the last NBA franchise he played for and he ended his career with three different teams in China.

The man who was supposed to rule the world finished his career with averages of 7.4 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 rebounds per game, and made more headlines for his off-court exploits.

Telfair was plagued with legal issues throughout his career and post playing days.

In 2007, when he was playing for the Celtics, the then-21-year-old was arrested and charged with second-degree possession of a handgun and driving with a suspended license after being pulled over by police in Yonkers, N.Y.

Eventually, when the case was heard a year later, Telfair pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and received three years’ probation. The NBA handed also him a three-game suspension following the guilty plea.

In 2017, a year after he had retired, Telfair and another man were stopped in a Ford F-150 pickup truck in Brooklyn for driving without his lights on and illegally parking.

After a police search of the vehicle, the men were arrested on weapons and marijuana-related charges.

In April 2019, following a two-week trial, Telfair was found guilty of felonious weapons possession. In August that year he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

The case is currently on appeal.

In 2021, eighteen former NBA players – including Telfair – were charged with defrauding the league’s health and welfare benefit plan out of about $4 million.

According to an indictment, the players submitted fraudulent claims to get reimbursed for medical and dental procedures that they never actually received.

Telfair pleaded guilty in March 2023 and faced a possible 20 year prison sentence. However in January 2024, he avoided a jail sentence and was handed three years of probation and ordered to forfeit more than $350,000 he received from his fraudulent claims.

Telfair fought back tears as he apologized to the judge for his conduct.

“I know right from wrong,” he said. “If I could do it again, I wouldn’t have taken the money from the account.”

It’s fair to say that LeBron and Telfair’s lives – and careers – have gone in opposite directions since they appeared on the front of SLAM Magazine together.

James is widely recognized as one of the greatest basketball players ever and has become a movie star and billionaire.

Telfair, on the other hand, struggled to handle the fame and fortune that comes with being an NBA star and found himself on the wrong side of the law on too many occasions.

In 2013, he sat down with SLAM to look back at his career and reflect on his life.

“College definitely would’ve helped me,” he said.

“I didn’t have the structure. And I would’ve gotten an opportunity to get out of New York for a year without having money. It would’ve filtered a lot of BS that I dealt with early.

“So I can’t say that I wish I didn’t go to college. If I had the opportunity again, I’d take it. But I made my own decision. I don’t have no fingers to point. I don’t have a sneaker contract to blame. I don’t have nobody to blame.”

Telfair’s story is a cautionary tale of how badly things can go wrong for professional hoopers. By contrast, LeBron’s achievements are a prime example of everything that can go right.