LeBron James Chosen as SI’s Sportsman of the Year

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/804348555754438660

I was listening to the Dan Patrick show this morning and Dan and the Danettes were going over their “who will win and who should win” predictions.  Most coalesced around the idea that the Cubs would win, partially boosted by the incentive to sell more magazines, but not all thought the Cubbies should win.  I was a bit stunned at nary a mention of LeBron other than during the initial listing of the nominees.  As a savvy lede into commercial, they all started shouting “nooo!!!!  No way!” when the reveal happened.  I struggled to guess who it could have been. They seemed mildly upset but mostly shocked as one of the Danette’s just said “it’s a curveball!”

I figured: “well there’s no way it’s LeBron, then.”  Nothing “curveball-ish” about The Return of the King vanquishing the historical, juggernaut Warriors, overcoming a 3-1 finals deficit (more NBA History), and tallying more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than any other player for the series.  I’m a box score skeptic as it were but come on, that is ludicrous. And, of course, it’s MORE. NBA. HISTORY.  LeBron altered the history of an entire region and had arguably the most signature NBA Finals of all time.  To tap into the College Football Playoff lingo: “No one can top that résumé.”

So anyway, I have no idea how LeBron of all people flew under the radar on the DP show, and I think SI made a fine choice in this selection.  I will add that while I certainly would have given the award to LeBron, I do have some issues with Sports Illustrated’s announcement.  First, it seems very blatant in the opening paragraphs that this is a way to bring attention to The Essay and to another post by Lee Jenkins that is slated to drop this afternoon.  In other words, this is a nice way to ensure Sports Illustrated remains the featured evangelist for the Prodigal Son/Return of the King legendarium.  Even if this is perfectly reasonable, did they have to advertise it so brazenly?  Lastly, without getting overtly political, I find it off-putting that the final paragraph indicates that the award is not a political award and then proceeds to gush over the “courage” of Colin Kaepernick and the “unapologetic feminism” of Serena Williams, if only because this indicates to me that bonus points are given for journalist-endorsed political/social activism.  Oh well, it’s not going to stop me from getting a copy or two this Christmas.