LeBron James accepted his award as Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year on Wednesday and made a pretty cool revelation. According to SI’s Richard Deitsch, James said that the wallpaper on his cell phone is a Photoshopped picture of him holding the ball while Michael Jordan (in his prime) guards him.
He explained the choice.
“Jordan was my superhero growing up,” James said, per Deitsch. “He was the guy I feel helped me get to where I am today. As a competitor, who would not want to go against the best? That’s like asking [Tom] Brady would he want to go against Montana in the fourth quarter.”
The Basketball Jones speculates that the image at the top of this post is the one LBJ has as his background. If so, I think it’s pretty cool. If MJ is LeBron’s source of motivation, that means he is aiming high. And by having the photo on his phone, it’s a daily reminder of what he’s trying to achieve in the game.
Another cool aspect of James winning SI’s Sportsman of the Year Award for 2012 is that it comes 10 years after he first appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the Chosen One. Here was the February 18 2002 cover:
A lot of people dislike LeBron James, but I am a fan. Not only do I love his game and unselfish style on the court, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he has accomplished. It could not have been easy for him to be in the national spotlight from the time he was 17 years old until now. He was billed as the “Chosen One” as a teenager and has lived up to and possibly exceeded his expectations. Congratulations to him on his accomplishments.
Chest bump to Ball Don’t Lie
