BOSTON -- LeBron James returned to Boston in time for Thursday's summer league tipoff against Dallas. But the cross-country trek from L.A., where he attended the ESPYs the previous night, might have been too much for him.

While the coddling of the new NBA franchise won't end this summer, the honeymoon on the court is over. James had his way cutting through the lane in high school. But the most highly touted rookie in league history won't have the same welcoming when the regular season begins.

"Once he gets into the regular season, the vets are going to test him obviously,'' former Detroit Pistons coach Rick Carlisle said. "He'll take some physical hits. I don't think there will be anything dirty, but he's going to have to earn it when he goes into the lane.''

Dominique Wilkins, helping to coach Atlanta's summer league team, thinks James will have a target on his back. That the veterans will want to prove themselves against him and won't care about his hype.

"It won't be as easy as high school,'' said NBA legend Alex English, coaching the Hawks with Wilkins. "The veteran guys are probably going to knock him on his butt the first few times he goes down the lane to welcome to the league.''

James' introduction to the league might have begun in Orlando two weeks ago.

"The first game he played in Orlando, he went across the lane to set a pick and this guy flattened him,'' said Cleveland coach Paul Silas, watching the Cavs game against Dallas at UMass-Boston from a courtside seat. "(James) jumped back up and didn't have a whimper. He has a great command of himself. He's very poised. It's unbelievable that he's only 18 years old.

"We killed rookies,'' Silas said. "But I didn't go up against a rookie like this kid. He's special.''

B.J. Armstrong was a hard-nosed guard out of Iowa. He made a career out of taking shots in the lane, making jumpers and not backing down.

Armstrong doesn't buy into the hype of top draft picks. He said players learn quickly that the honor means little once the season starts.

"He was drafted No. 1. Congratulations,'' said Armstrong, an assistant to Chicago general manager John Paxson. "But after that he has to come out and produce and that's what players, coaches and the fans will respect.''

The style of play isn't as brash as it was in the 1980s or the early '90s. The era of the Bad Boys in Detroit could have meant potential bruises for James.

"Put it this way -- in my first game against Dr. J, he had 37 on me,'' Wilkins said. "In my first game against (Larry) Bird, he had 40 against me. They test you. That's the nature of the game. The veterans test the young talent coming in, especially the young talent coming in rated above the rest.''

But the rookies in the past few seasons aren't feeling as much under siege. Atlanta's Dan Dickau, who went through an injury-riddled rookie season, said opposing players would run right at a rookie with the ball. He said James can expect more pressure, especially as a point guard, until opponents respect his jumper.

"He's going to be a target,'' Milwaukee Bucks forward Dan Gadzuric said. "He's a young guy and there's a lot of hype around him. There's going to be a lot of players going after him and dunk on him just like Yao Ming (last season). There's a target on him definitely. They might come out with crafty stuff, little tricks, try to make him look embarrassed in front of fans. There's going to be some stuff in store for him.''

But the expectation is that James will be able to handle the shots he'll definitely receive. He'll be challenged, particularly on the defensive end. Carlisle said teams will try to trap him, throw him off and see what he can handle. But Carlisle doesn't anticipate that posing a problem for James. Neither do his teammates.

"With LeBron, it'll be every night,'' Cleveland second-year pro Carlos Boozer said. "He'll have three or four Xs on his back every night, more than any other rookie coming into this league.''

Silas is going to put the ball in James' hands and hope that opposing point guards will be guarding him, thus giving James an advantage to punish them inside.

If Silas were an opposing coach, however, he would let James go to the hoop a few times and then foul him to judge his reaction.

"The one thing he's not is a punk,'' Silas said. "He'll get back up and battle you.''

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.