LeBron James declares fandom for Ed Cota, his 'favorite' UNC basketball point guard

Erik Hall, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James never played college basketball, but on Friday, he declared his fandom for a former North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball point guard.

The Carolina Basketball account on Twitter asked Friday, "Who's your favorite Carolina point guard all-time?"

LeBron answered, "Ed Cota."

Cota played at UNC from 1996-2000. He earned All-ACC second-team honors in each of his final three seasons, and he was the 1996-97 ACC Rookie of the Year.

James would have been in high school and junior high when Cota was playing for the Tar Heels. James was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft out of high school.

James was not the only NBA player to respond to the question in Carolina Basketball's tweet.

Ty Lawson, who played in the NBA from 2009-17, responded with the eyes looking emoji and six heart emojis.

Lawson played at UNC from 2006-09, helping the Tar Heels win the 2009 NCAA national championship.

Former NBA head coach and UNC player George Karl responded to Lawson's tweet and said, "Can't pick yourself Ty!"

Karl played at UNC from 1970-73. He then played in the ABA and NBA from 1973-78. Karl was then an NBA head coach from 1984-2016.

This year, Karl was chosen for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2017, James said in a discussion with Drake about Vince Carter that he "wanted to go to Carolina."

"I wanted to go to Carolina at the time, so him (Vince Carter) going to Carolina it was like 'OK," James said in 2017. "Watching Ed Cota throwing the lobs to him, Antawn Jamison and all those guys on that team. When you are watching Vince, you are understanding that this guy (Vince Carter) is bigger than North Carolina."

Here's more UNC basketball news:

7 Dec 1996: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith confers with guard Ed Cota during the Pepsi Challenge against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC won the game, 86-75. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /
7 Dec 1996: North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Dean Smith confers with guard Ed Cota during the Pepsi Challenge against the South Carolina Gamecocks at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC won the game, 86-75. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /

Carter and Jamison both played at UNC from 1995-98.

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: LeBron James declares fandom for Ed Cota as 'favorite' UNC point guard