The soaring dunks, the hanging bank shots, the slick crosscourt passes, the rebounding, and most of all, the incredible court awareness. It was all on display in LeBron James' impressive first two games in the NBA.

"I know how to play the game of basketball," he said after the Cleveland Cavaliers worked out on Friday. "That's not being conceited. I just know what I can do and what I can't do."

No argument there.

This 18-year-old strolled into the NBA as if it was his rightful inheritance. No intimidation, no awe-struck gazes at his childhood heroes. Just some terrific basketball.

"He's going to be a great player," Hall of Famer Jerry West said. "I don't know why anybody would even question that. He's wise beyond his years. He's got special tools. He'll have nights when he won't shoot well, but his total game makes him special."

Before his NBA debut against Sacramento, James had dinner with Moses Malone, who long ago became the first big-time high school player to go directly to the pros. Malone offered some advice.

"The first game jitters, that's the main thing he was concerned about," James said, "how you handle it, by staying focused and just competing. Don't back down from anybody. I've been hearing that a lot, but when you hear it from one of the greats, it makes it sound even better."

The NBA sorely needed someone to capture the public's imagination after the departure of Michael Jordan, James' boyhood idol. James intends to fill that void. It's no chest-pumping boast, just a calm fact.

"That's the only reason I wanted to be here, to be compared to some of the best, and that's by working hard," he said.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound point guard loves to learn, Cavaliers coach Paul Silas said. He is still figuring out how to take over a game, to use his incredible skills to the best advantage. He struggled with his shot in the preseason, but in the opener on Wednesday night, he scored 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 25.

The next night in Phoenix, he flirted with a triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. He had seven turnovers, but a couple came when teammates weren't ready for his passes and the ball bounced off them out of bounds.

"Well, I think he made a lot of believers out of a lot of people," Silas said. "The thing we didn't do is win, but he did his part. I was just happy that he had two really good games so everybody can shut up and let him play his game."

That's not likely to happen for a while. The Cavaliers flew to Portland on Friday evening and will play the Trail Blazers on Saturday night. Their home opener is next Wednesday against Denver, a showdown with celebrated rookie Carmelo Anthony.

Eventually, maybe everyone will grow accustomed to this wunderkind's nightly show.

"He's for real," said Red Auerbach, the Hall of Famer who oversaw the dominating years of the Boston Celtics. "He does it all and he'll get better as soon as he gets more games. He's got the whole package, and the best thing he's got going for him is Paul Silas. That will be important to the kid. He needs somebody in control. Paul is perfect for that."

Nike invested $90 million in James. Other endorsement deals push the total well over $100 million. He already has revived this moribund franchise. Yet the pressure rests easy on his young shoulders.

The 82-game season can be a long one, though, especially for a teenager surrounded by older guys.

James' mother Gloria is along on this trip, to help her son pass the time between games. In the NBA, there is a lot of time to kill.

"I can't go out as much as some of the older guys," he said, "so I just stay in my hotel and sit back and reflect and watch TV."

Like so many others his age, he's a video game fanatic. He says he is very good. Otherwise, it's all basketball.

Asked how good James will be in five years, Silas said, "Oh my God, he's going to be awesome. It won't even be that long. In a couple of years he's going to be something special. He listens, he learns. Whatever you want him to do he tries to do it. And he has an overwhelming need to win. He really wants to win awfully bad."

That's another trait of the great ones.

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