Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated announced that Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is the 2016 Sportsperson of the Year.
In a year full of stirring and historic performances across all sports, James was transcendent, rallying the Cavaliers from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals to deliver the city of Cleveland’s first championship in a major sport since 1964. James, who has now won three NBA titles, was named Finals MVP for the third time in his career. More important to fans in Cleveland, he delivered on the promise he made when he returned to the Cavaliers as a free agent in 2014: to bring the franchise in his home state its first NBA crown.
James will be honored at the Sportsperson of the Year event at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn on December 12.
Following the announcement, James said via Twitter:
Humbled! This honor belongs to everyone around me: my family, fans, team, & my @ljfamfoundation kids. #WeAreFamily #StriveForGreatness #RWTW”
Since 1954, Sports Illustrated has annually presented the Sportsperson of the Year award to the player, coach or team who has best personified the ideals of athletic achievement and sportsmanship. James, who was also SI’s SOTY in 2012, is only the second two-time winner of the award (Tiger Woods: 1996, 2000).
The list of past SOTY honorees is a who’s who of the greatest athletes of the last half century who have transcended their sport including Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Serena Williams. This is the seventh time the Sportsperson award has gone to a professional basketball player. The others were Dwyane Wade (2006), Tim Duncan and David Robinson (’03), Michael Jordan (1991), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985) and Bill Russell (1968).
