LeBron James Named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year

http://sportsmediajournal.com/ Sports Illustrated has announced that basketball star LeBron James has been named the magazine’s Sportsman of Year. James is the seventh basketball star to be named Sportsman of the Year, following in the footsteps of Dwayne Wade (’06); Tim Duncan and David Robinson (’03), Michael Jordan (1991), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985) and Bill Russell (1968). James led the Miami Heat to the NBA title this past season and also led the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team to gold in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. “This year there was an endless list of high-quality possibilities,” said Time Inc. Sports Group Editor Paul Fichtenbaum. “But LeBron’s stirring accomplishments on and off the court were impossible to ignore. He showed tremendous heart during times of adversity, and he delivered with relentless determination. Equally as impressive, although much less heralded, was his development of a hands-on educational program in an Akron, Ohio, school district which will have a profound and long-lasting impact on its students. His accomplishments embody the finest traditions of this award.”