As a rising star at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, Stanley Johnson might have stood in front of a mirror and seen something similar to LeBron James: a tall, thick frame—strong but not stocky, built but still growing. He might have seen a hooper in a tight end’s body, with an effective but unrefined game and a confidence that the former trumped the latter.
Johnson had James on the mind throughout his teenage years. He would hear stories about James from Mike Brown, James’ former NBA coach, whose son, Elijah, was Johnson’s high school teammate.