"He fractured my face" - LeBron James recalls Dikembe Mutombo ruining his pre-birthday game on Cavaliers

Over his two-decade-plus long run in the NBA, LeBron James has battled players from numerous generations. Among those was Dikembe Mutombo, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer. Looking back at his legacy, LeBron touched on an unwanted birthday gift he received from the Hall-of-Fame center.

During his Media Day press conference, LeBron was asked to speak on the death of the longtime NBA big man. He of course started off by offering condolences to his family and loved ones, along with praising his impact on the game. After that, he talked about an encounter he had with Mutombo early on in his career.

Able to laugh about it now, LeBron James told a story of when Mutombo fractured his face while attempting to block his shot at the rim. The finishing touch to this story is that this game happened to be on his birthday that year.

"My fondest memory of Dikembe Mutombo," LeBron said. "He fractured my face, on my birthday in Cleveland with an elbow."

The game LeBron is referring to actually happened the night before his birthday in 2004. In that matchup with the Houston Rockets, he tried to intercept a pass thrown by Tracy McGrady. While soaring into the lane, he caught Mutombo's elbow to the face.

LeBron exited the game after just 17 minutes of action that night and was unable to return.

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LeBron James left speechless at first Media Day with Bronny James

The 2025 season is set to be a special one for LeBron James, as he will do something that no player has ever done before. After being drafted in the second round and given a standard contract, LeBron and Bronny James will be the first father-son duo as teammates in the NBA.

As Media Day ensued, LeBron sat down to conduct a TV interview following his press conference with the media. Bronny would end up joining his dad at the table, leaving the 20-time All-Star at a loss for words.

"Just pure joy," LeBron said. "I don't have any words."

"Just super proud of him to get to this point. He's a man and he's ready to go."

Bronny still has a ways to go in terms of carving out a role for himself in the league, but now he'll get to continue his development alongside his father. As the season gets closer, the hype will continue to grow about when these two will be seen on the floor together.

Aside from his historic family moment, LeBron James is still aiming to lead the charge for the Lakers. Fresh off winning a gold medal alongside his teammate Anthony Davis, the focus shifts back to getting LA back in a position to contend.