Will McDonough Writing Contest

My Favorite Athlete: LeBron James

LeBron James, a small forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is regarded as the current best player in the NBA. He has scored over 24,000 points and dished out over 6,000 assists in his professional career thus far. Winning back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat cemented LeBron's status as a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. He is the most scrutinized player in the league but remains determined to the be the best to ever play the game. Always being compared to Michael Jordan does not stop LeBron James from being the best player in the world.

Growing up in Akron, Ohio and being drafted right out of high school by his home town Cavaliers, James was given the nickname "The Chosen One." At the age of 20 he became the youngest player ever to receive the Rookie of the Year Award at age 20. James was also the first Cavalier to win the award. Since then LeBron has won 4 MVP Awards and 2 championships with the Heat. Most people see, to also forget the 2 Gold Medals James owns when he led team USA in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Regardless of all of the accolades, he continuously strives to be the best and to win more titles than Bill Russell (11).

Measuring at 6 foot 8 inches and weighing 240 pounds, James has an extremely rare combination of size, speed, and power. He is an inch taller and 25 pounds heavier than the average NBA small forward gives LeBron the ability to beat his defender by attacking the rim with his size or backing him down in the post. Combine that size with the ability to run a 4.6 second 40 yard dash and blow by defenders with speed. His athleticism speaks for itself with his highlight-reel worthy explosive dunks. LeBron also has a very high basketball I.Q. and always seems to make the decisions on the court.

LeBron is my favorite player not only because he has freakish athletic ability, but because he is constantly motivated to be a better player and teammate. At just 30 years old, James is regarded as one of the best leaders in the game. After returning to the Cavaliers for the second time, he was already given the title of captain and worked together with the front office to create a championship caliber team in Cleveland.