LeBron James, 18, became the NBA's No. 1 draft pick only two months ago and has yet to play a minute in a regular season game, but already he has garnered around $100 million in endorsements. His No. 23 Cleveland Cavaliers jerseys are among the hottest-selling licensed apparel in sports, easily outdistancing established names like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. His inaugural basketball card for Upper Deck sold out in a week.

James has provided a giant pop to the Cavaliers' ticket sales and injected lots of buzz into the NBA marketing machine: His jersey has been the main attraction on the NBA Store Web site this summer and the Cavaliers are scheduled for 13 games on national TV next season vs. none over the last three years.

"We haven't seen a high school ballplayer come into the league with this much hype, and who has been that good at such a young age since Lew Alcindor came out of New York," said Jeff Chown, managing director of The Marketing Arm.

The question is: Will the 6-foot-8 Akron, Ohio, high school phenom be the next Tiger Woods and fulfill expectations for his league and for his sponsors, which already include shoe giant Nike and trading card company Upper Deck and could include Coca-Cola? Or will James be a flame-out like Sam Bowie (who was drafted before Jordan) and bounce around the league a few years before becoming a trivia question?