Mirjam Swanson: LeBron James -- all-time overachieving All-Star

Pity the prodigies.

All of the gifts and none of the experience. So much pressure and so little experience. Talent and tools and too much to learn.

The bigger deal they are, the further from grace they’ll fall. Usually. Not LeBron James, though. He’s one of the rare teen sensations who didn’t leave us hanging, wondering: What could’ve been if we’d actually gotten past the first page of the story?

No, we’ve all been swept up in James’ epic saga for so long there are college graduates who haven’t been alive as long as he has lived in the public eye, not just fulfilling the greatest expectations, but rolling over them like a kid driving a shiny silver Hummer.

James is still that gifted, prodigious talent, still the kid from Akron at heart — just now with more experience than anyone, ever. And a billion-some dollars too.

And for the 22nd time — extending his own historic streak — James will be an NBA All-Star this weekend when the event is held at the Clippers’ Intuit Dome.

He was voted in by coaches who didn’t care that he’d missed the first 14 games of the season with sciatica or maybe not even what his averages were, though they’re good: 22 points, 7.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals per game.

Only Vince Carter can say he’s played as many NBA seasons as James has earned All-Star nods. LeBron, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (42,525 points), is also the all-time leading All-Star scorer (434). He’s logged more All-Star minutes (537) than any other player and attempted and made more field goals, too (355 and 182).

And in what will be his eighth All-Star appearance as a Laker, you’ll be able to find the four-time Olympian on the “USA Stripes” squad Sunday. It’ll be Stripes vs. Stars vs. the World in the NBA’s funky, newfangled round-robin tournament that some of us will be assigned to watch.

That LeBron will be there at least lends this year’s experiment some gravitas. If nothing else, we can say we were witnesses to this latest tally on his legacy of personal loyalty, professional leverage and unprecedented longevity. He might or might not be the best to have ever done it, but definitely he’s the best to have ever done it this well for this long.

At 41, his superpowers have waned some. But he’s still capable of overpowering his peers, he’s still an All-Star, and let’s face it, Lakers fans, so long as LeBron is inclined to play on, he’ll be the second-best player available next offseason, too, behind Lakers teammate Austin Reaves. (Unless you predict the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo demands a trade this way, which I wouldn’t bet on.)

Veteran NBA coach Doc Rivers is right whenever he says it: LeBron is an overachiever.

Imagine telling that to the people who kept saying they didn’t want to compare young LeBron to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson — as a way of comparing him to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. What if you’d been able to clue them in then: As incredible as you think this kid could be, he’s going to be better.

Imagine telling someone who’d initially been introduced to the high school junior as “The Chosen One” on the Feb. 18, 2002, cover of “Sports Illustrated” that the kid’s NBA playing career would outlast the online link to Grant Wahl’s story.

How mind blown would everyone be, all those agreeing LeBron looked like a man among boys, if someone told them he would grow up to play with his own grown son on the Lakers.

Experts like ESPN’s Jay Bilas unblinkingly labeled LeBron “the best high school basketball player I have ever seen,” which seems obvious now. But Bilas also said this about Ben Simmons, who flamed out: “The last time I remember someone giving me that feeling on the floor was when LeBron was in his senior year of high school … this guy is the real thing.”

You can, of course, be the real thing and not a sure thing. As a soaring, scowling LeBron led St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to a nationally televised upset of No. 1-ranked Oak Hill in 2002, Dicky V crowed: “Only one guy is gonna stop him from being a star – and that’s LeBron James!”

On the same broadcast, Bill Walton — speaking from experience unfortunately by the foot and ankle injuries that curtailed his Hall of Fame career — cautioned: “The only thing you can’t predict is whether he’ll stay healthy, whether he’ll continue to have the work ethic he’s shown to this point.”

It there were a playbook for making good on God-given talents, LeBron would have memorized it — and actually written additional chapters, including how to graciously accept another All-Star invite to go with the 21 you already have: “Super humbling … to be able to be an All-Star means a lot to my family, people that have been following my career, my LeBron faithful. They’ve been following my journey and it’s always rewarding just from a humbling standpoint to be able to be rewarded for what you put your work into.”

For 23 professional seasons, he’s proved more durable than most, the hard-working king, staying out of his own way, scandal-free — unless you count throwing on some throwback jerseys in high school and a tactless Decision at 25.

He’s won four NBA titles with three teams — including in 2020 with the Lakers — and has generally been so great for so long that we have to keep reminding ourselves: “Isn’t it amazing what he’s doing at his age?”

Still, we’re probably somewhat numb to his exploits, to the constant drumbeat of history. Because as intoxicating as potential can be, as obsessed as we are with who’s got next, LeBron has been around, living rent-free in our consciousness for so long it feels normal, almost as if he were a roommate.

He can get in passive-aggressive moods, and sometimes his friends will show up and say the strangest things. Some of you might think he says too much, or not nearly enough. But you can depend on him to set the table. And he’s good for conversation, the way he can still dominate the headlines.

You can count on him for a triple-double on a Thursday night in February, and to win you some games, too; he’s won the Lakers a few this season. And you can trust that he’s good to show up and toss some chalk on All-Star weekend.