Matthew Lebron shares a name with the NBA’s “King” but  moments of his high school career are more reminiscent of its “GOAT.”

Banning Lewis boys basketball coach Wes McKenzie remembers game-planning against LeBron two years ago, when the latter played for James Irwin. 

Lebron said he was sick that day, but after drinking three Pedialytes, he went on to have one of the best games of his career to that point. Banning Lewis ultimately prevailed 52-49, but Lebron went off for 32 points, shooting 40% from the field and making six threes. 

“I went into that game; they planned, they face-guarded me. That was one of those games I just didn’t miss and just an out-of-body experience because I remember I never had one of those games until then,” Lebron said. 

Lebron moved to the Banning Lewis area not long after that season. When McKenzie saw Lebron and his family touring the Stallions’ school with the intent to transfer, he could hardly believe it. 

Right then and there, McKenzie issued a challenge to the former opponent. 

“After spring break that year, I saw him touring with his family and they had just moved to the neighborhood and I’m like, ‘No way,’” McKenzie said. “I remember that first meeting with him, I asked him, ‘Are you going to let me coach you hard? Are you going to let me push you, because you’re good, I think you want to be great.’”

Lebron soared past greatness and became elite. He just finished his senior season, where he helped the Stallions reach the final four of the 3A state playoffs for just the second time in history, averaged more than 20 points per game for the third consecutive season, and became just the 16th player to officially eclipse 2,000 career points according to the Colorado High School Activities Association.

Lebron averaged 26.8 points per game and shot 42% from 3-point-range despite taking 229 shots from beyond the arc. 

CHSAA’s 3A boys basketball player of the year, who was named to the all-state first team, Lebron is The Gazette’s 1A-4A boys basketball Peak Performer of the Year. 

McKenzie and his staff have fielded a competitive team for most of Banning’s short history and have turned the Stallions into a 3A powerhouse the past few seasons, but having a 2,000-point scorer brings a new level of buzz about the program to the community. 

“We’re really proud of the culture we’ve built not only within our program but the school and our community. We’ve always had great support, but when a guy like Matt that can score it the way he does and brings a lot of excitement with the tough shot making and that ability, that brings people from outside the community,” McKenzie said. “Now we’ve got more people following and here and then they see the other guys and they see the team concepts, they see how we play together and how we play fast and aggressive. … Matt’s maybe the draw originally and then the group and the program and the culture, I think, hooks them, and that’s been special to see. Matt’s been great for buzz and for energy and we got a lot of young guys, we do our youth camps, we’ve got an elementary school attached to us and there’s a lot of buzz about Matthew Lebron. Kids are excited to be future Stallions and excited to be at Banning because they want to be like Matt.”

Part of being like Matt is understanding that his success is not just his own. Whether it’s teammates, friends or family, Lebron isn’t afraid to let people know that what he does is the sum of those who have invested in him.

First and foremost, there’s God.

“I think that God gave me a gift and I’m glad that I get to glorify His name through it,” he said. 

Then there’s family. Lebron’s work ethic and skill come from dad, Jose, who took him to the YMCA six days a week to train. His passion and inspiration come from his brother, Dereck. 

“I just watched him at the club and he played at James Irwin, so the intent for me to go to James Irwin was because my brother went there. As a little kid, watching him get his name called out of a lineup, that’s just something I look up,” Lebron said. “That’s why I got into basketball. I played at James Irwin for two years because of him.”

Those two years with the Jaguars are special to Lebron, who played alongside his best friends, whom he still keeps in touch with to this day. Part of the reason Lebron became such a prolific scorer is because from the very start of his high school career, he was put in situations where his talents were needed.

“I was playing with three of my best friends and then we had one other guy and it was just the five of us, so we played the whole game. We had no bench and that was just what our games were and what coach taught us to do, that’s what he went with,” Lebron said. “To have (my friends) all on the court with me, that’s just really good chemistry. We weren’t that good, but since we knew each other, we trusted each other. It was just really fun and just great memories that you make that you could talk about for years.”

LeBron stepped into a new environment following that final season at James Irwin and joined the Stallions. No longer one of five guys expected to play the overwhelming majority of games, Lebron learned to trust his teammates and find better shots. 

“(Coach McKenzie) taught me what a good shot was. I think I went from, at James Irwin, forcing shots and taking bad shots and I think my junior year I took a few bad shots, but I was slowly learning, and I think my senior year I took a big leap in just taking great shots,” he said. “I became more efficient.”

While the prolific 3-point shooting and 2,000-point milestone will always headline the stories about LeBron’s high school career, McKenzie is proud of the way the star offensive player evolved on defense in spite of tough coaching. 

“We used to come at him hard in film. We have all the way up to these last couple years, and kind of use him as an example and challenge him defensively to be in the right position. It doesn’t matter how many you score if you’re giving up that many on the other end or if we’re having an equal amount of breakdowns,” McKenzie said. “I think his on-the-ball defense was so much better his senior year than it was his junior year and we really prided ourselves on being able to pressure the basketball. If you can pressure the basketball, then you can limit transition, you can turn people over, and spark our own transition.”

While Lebron is proud of his individual achievements, it’s the memories he made with others that last forever. He’ll always cherish playing on a team that won its first 19 games before suffering a loss, which made it to the state semifinals at the University of Denver. 

He loves that his brother Dereck, who recently graduated from college, and his parents were with him along for the ride.  

He hopes to keep that community close as he attempts to join an in-state Division II or junior college program after his senior year. Beyond that, he wants to play at the Division I level and maybe play for Team Puerto Rico one day. 

His guide through the future will be the same mantra that helped him navigate the past. 

“Just the message I try to spread is trust God, just outwork everybody. If you can outwork anybody, then anything can happen for you… stay humble and let your game talk,” he said.