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though we don’t pass it—those who have received
this award are still impacting the world—we do
light it from the f lames of those who came before
us. We are connected by our passion not just to
entertain our world, but also to improve it.
Paul Simon sang that “every generation sends
a hero up the pop chart,” and this generation
couldn’t do any better in the hero department
than LeBron James. Part of being a hero is to have
both the modesty to feel unworthy of such a heav y
word and the strength to accept the responsibility
that comes with others looking to you to be that
hero. What is a hero but someone who stands up
for those who can’t? Who embodies our cher-
ished ideals of sportsmanship: fair play, hard work
and compassion? That pretty much describes the
LeBron James I’ve watched and come to know since
he was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft and
was named Rookie of the Year.
In the 17 years since, LeBron’s social activism
has made him one of the most controversial
athletes in the world. But there’s no controversy
about his athletic skills and achievements, which
is why he’s appeared on dozens of magazine covers
and is the most followed basketball player on
Instagram. On the court he is a combination of
Cirque du Soleil–like gracefulness and Hulk-
like brute force. More important, he has the
Tony Stark–like intelligence to strategically know
when to use which. The best players understand
that basketball is like playing chess while riding
a bicycle down a rocky mountain. LeBron sees
the board, the pieces, and makes his move while
others are still thinking. We’ve all seen him single-
handedly drag a team to the Finals by sheer force
of will and iron-clad determination. Any kid who
watched those performances had to be inspired
to hit the court the next day with renewed desire
to play harder, tougher and smarter.
Let’s get right to the Greatest of All Time ques-
tion: Is LeBron the GOAT? The stats are pretty
convincing: 16 All-Star appearances, four MVP
awards, four NBA championships and four Finals
MVPs—including in 2020, when he led the Lakers
to their 17th title. Whew! His accomplishments
are exhausting just to read. Sadly, the question
will have to remain the favorite pastime of sports-
writers on deadline but out of ideas, bar patrons
shaky from beer nut withdrawal and statistics-
obsessed fans waiting for the next season to start.
Final answer: There is no way of determining the
mythical GOAT because the criteria change. It’s
like asking who’s the greatest singer of all time.
(Answer: It’s Billie Holiday.) Players from past
eras operated under different rules and therefore
had to craft their style around those rules. There’s
no way to fairly compare.
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WHAT IS A HERO
BUT SOMEONE
WHO STANDS
UP FOR THOSE
WHO CAN’T?
WHO EMBODIES
OUR CHERISHED
IDEALS OF
SPORTSMANSHIP?