Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse. He’d already taken the MVP award, earned his first ring and (arguably) led Team USA to Gold Medal victory in the London Games; all in one year. Now in the closing weeks, Lebron has been named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year.
The first Miami Heat player since Dwayne Wade (2006) to receive the prestigious accolade, Lebron joins the ranks of Bill Russell (1968), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985), Michael Jordan (1991) and Tim Duncan (2003); some of the greatest basketball players to ever play.
James told Associated Press this morning “I remember signing here (Miami) just like yesterday and the roof basically caving in” – referring to the infamous ‘Decision’ he made to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010. “To see that I and my team and everyone around me were able to patch that roof up, to come to this point and receive this award, it’s huge”.
Sports Illustrated’s Paul Fichtenbaum claimed, “Lebron made it easy on us”, and mentioning that there was nobody more deserving of the award. After dominating the sport for the entire year, it is certainly indisputable that there is no NBA player more worthy of the accolades Lebron James is receiving. Well certainly the best NBA player this calendar year, I do believe that Usain Bolt, and Michael Phelps could also have been considered for Sportsman of the Year, and it’s not as clear cut as Fichtenbaum claims. Lebron is a deserving winner, but not the only contender for the award.
Don’t get me wrong. As an ex-Cavaliers fan, I still have a grudge. It was tough to watch Lebron abandon the Cavs and leave to play in Miami with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. But maybe it’s time to move on and let the King sit peacefully in his rightfully earned throne.
And that is the last word…
