Exactly you can't compare hype now vs then. In fact, you can make a case that the new phenom is actually more hyped than LeBron....when he was in high school there wasn't social media and memes and TikTok highlights heck there wasn't even iPhones yet
Yeah, there just wasn't the technology. I think that guys getting hyped like they do now can actually help these guys. By the time todays players get to the NBA, they're already used to being somewhat famous.
Back then, guys didn't really get famous until at least college and most not until they go pro. Then they had to try to learn how to deal with it.