By Tom Withers
The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Sound the royal trumpets and roll out the 94-foot red carpet from baseline to baseline.

The 18-year-old called King James - the one with the spellbinding playing skills, dazzling smile, $100 million in endorsements and sky-high expectations - has arrived.

Welcome to the NBA, LeBron James. They've been waiting for you.

It's hard to remember a more eagerly anticipated debut. The Beatles didn't get hype like this.

But John, Paul, George and Ringo didn't step off a plane in New York nearly 40 years ago with $90 million sneaker deals or their own Web sites, either.

Their records and guitars weren't being auctioned on eBay, and they weren't making commercials, handing out MTV awards or wearing $500,000 watches before their first concert.

The world has changed, which is why a hoops-playing prodigy from Akron raised by a single mother can become a megamillionaire, A-list celebrity, billion-dollar corporation and anointed basketball messiah before playing a single second of his first pro game.

Now James, the nation's top high school player the past two years, must prove he deserves it all as he begins his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team will open the regular season Wednesday in Sacramento.

"I've never been around a player like him, certainly not one at 18," said first-year Cavaliers coach Paul Silas. "He has an unusual confidence. He's not going to be intimidated by anyone. He says the right things at the right time.

"He has that swagger that the great ones have. I'm not putting him in a great category - yet. He has a chance to be a very, very special player."

And now, after a highly publicized prep career spent toying with high school players, James will take the floor with grown men who play for keeps every night.

The LeBron James Era has begun.

By the numbers

90 million: Dollars Nike paid LeBron James in endorsement deal

9 million: Visitors to Cleveland's Cuyahoga County in 2001

478,403: People who live in Cleveland

471,374: People who went to home Cavaliers games in entire 2002-03 season

402,825: James' rookie jerseys sold as of Oct. 12

20,562: Seats available for basketball games at Gund Arena

16,354: Seats filled for James' preseason debut at Gund

9,000: Season tickets Cavaliers have sold so far for 2003-04 season

3,000: Season tickets Cavaliers reportedly sold in 2002-03 season

17: Games Cavaliers won in 2002-03 season

LeBron James timeline

LeBron James has been making headlines since his sophomore year of high school. Here are some highlights of his career thus far:

Dec. 3, 1999 - Scores 15 points as a freshman in his first varsity game at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. School will win three with James.

March 25, 2000 - SVSM wins Division III state championship.

March 21, 2001 - Becomes first sophomore to be named Ohio's Mr. Basketball.

March 20, 2002 - Named Ohio's Mr. Basketball for a second straight season.

Jan. 27, 2003 - Ohio High School Athletic Association clears James of any wrongdoing following an investigation to determine if he had violated state amateur bylaws by accepting a Hummer H2 as a gift.

Jan. 31, 2003 - OHSAA rules James ineligible as an amateur because he accepted free sports jerseys.

Feb. 5, 2003 - Summit County Judge James R. Williams issues temporary restraining order that allows James to play after two-game suspension.

April 25, 2003 - James declares himself eligible for the NBA draft.

June 26, 2003 - Drafted by Cleveland.

July 3, 2003 - Signs three-year, $12.96 million rookie contract.

Oct. 8, 2003 - Makes his professional debut, scoring eight points with three rebounds and seven assists.

About LeBron

Age-birth date: 18; Dec 30, 1984. Same birthday as golfer Tiger Woods.

Position: Guard/forward.

Height/Weight: 6-feet-8, 240 pounds.

Education: 2003 graduate of Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High.

High school career: Two-time consensus national player of the year by USA Today and Gatorade; Parade player of the year as a junior and senior and the first repeat winner in the award's 47-year history; three-time Mr. Basketball in Ohio; scored 2,657 points in high school and led SVSM to three state titles and one USA Today national championship; MVP of McDonald's All-American Game in 2003.

Sports hero: NBA great Michael Jordan, the reason he wears uniform No. 23.