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LeBron James passed on a ‘Space Jam’ sequel 15 years ago because he wasn’t sure he could top the original

The year is 2006: George W. Bush is President of the United States, “Pirates of the Carribean” is all of the craze and a 21-year-old LeBron James is emerging as one of the most dominant forces in the NBA — so dominant that Warner Bros. was prepared to make him the star of the “Space Jam” sequel, James revealed in a recent interview with Derek Lawrence of Entertainment Weekly. So why did it takes 15 years for James to finally commit?

According to James, it was a matter of timing:

Growing up in the Midwest in the ‘90s, it was impossible for James to not aspire to be the next MJ, which made Jordan’s team-up with the Tunes “a big part of my childhood,” he says.