LeBron James Nominated For Time's Person Of The Year Award

MIAMI — If the Miami Heat locker room was polled, LeBron James would not have unanimous support in the race for Time's Person of the Year.

James wouldn't even vote for himself.

Calling it "crazy" just to be on the list of finalists for the award, the NBA's reigning two-time MVP seemed almost a bit embarrassed on Monday when he learned that he was one of the final 25 names under consideration. The winner of the award, bestowed since 1927 on a person or group who "has done the most to influence the events of the year," is expected to be revealed next month.

"I am who I am and I think I'm in a position of my life where I'm going to get better every day," James said after Miami wrapped up its practice Monday. "But it's too much."

Other finalists this year include President Barack Obama (the 2008 winner), Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, conservative commentator Glenn Beck, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Also on the list: The trapped Chilean miners who spent more than two months underground before finally being reached and rescued in a gripping story that was covered worldwide.

"That's just crazy," James said. "What those guys did, the courage and what they stood for, I should be nowhere near that list. Nowhere near it."

Charles Lindbergh was the first winner of the award. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only three-time winner, and most recent winners include Vladimir Putin in 2007, Obama in 2008 and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in 2009.

___

Online:

Time Person of the Year: http://bit.ly/dvGISO

Comments

[princed p]

10:17 PM on 11/23/2010

Wow so much love here! Why the hate people? haha
Really tho, I read a good counter argument to why LeBron James should qualify for Person of the Year.
http://sportales.com/basketball/lebron-raymone-james-for-better-or-for-worse/

What do you think?

[carester]

10:07 AM on 11/17/2010

So much love here ! !

[Alan Papacito]

05:52 AM on 11/17/2010

Well, at least LBJ and I agree on one thing, he has no business being on that list.

[PoliticalMMA]

08:47 PM on 11/16/2010

I can understand Cleveland being mad at Lebron, but why is everyone else mad? What did Lebron do that was so personally offensive?

[hey0there]

11:17 PM on 11/16/2010

He just turns people off when he speaks.. part of his personality I guess. He has like anti-charm

[PoliticalMMA]

09:51 AM on 11/17/2010

before the Decision, he would universally loved pretty much. so turning people off when he speaks is justification for all the backlash. I thought you had to run a dog fighting ring or cheat on your wife MULTIPLE times to get this kind of backlash

[rikster]

08:34 PM on 11/16/2010

of all the people on this planet.....a professional basketball player....a member of the NBA soap Opera...?? Time needs to stop drinking the kool aid..

[kiddub]

06:08 PM on 11/16/2010

Well at least we are talking about Time's person of the year. Maybe that was their intention.

[Dosadi]

10:16 PM on 11/16/2010

Have they gotten that desperate?

[dmsdzinr]

01:58 PM on 11/16/2010

Mr. James better be careful about wanting this accolade. Time's Person of the Year DOES NOT always mean Most Admired nor Best Loved. Remember the Ayatollah was Time's Person of the Year during the Hostage Crisis!

[kiddub]

06:06 PM on 11/16/2010

He clearly stated that he doesnt think he deserves the award.

[LogicalMathMan]

01:51 PM on 11/16/2010

To all the haters, LeBron was nominated among 24 others.

So, here's a list of my probables for each sport:
Baseball : The entire Giants team
Basketball: Surely not LeBron since you ain't worth a thang, if you ain't got dat bling.
Football: Michael Vick, but, it's too close to his incarceration for Time to consider him
Hockey: The Blackhawks OR, Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
Soccer: Landon Donovan (in the US), but seriously, the Spanish Team
Cycling: Nobody, since Contador also cheated.
Boxing: Manny Pacquiao, if he tests clean for his next fight in a legitimate State (not TX)

[Evil Twin Rove]

12:55 PM on 11/16/2010

why would this stiff be nominated? oh wait they also are considering Sarah Palin... obviously Time has lost there mind

[Dosadi]

10:17 PM on 11/16/2010

Time is hard up for attention.  They refuse to start telling lies to attract readers.

[oz3472]

12:48 PM on 11/16/2010

Who was he nominated by? Chris Berman of ESPN?

[wally51]

12:24 PM on 11/16/2010

Man of the year, He throws a ball through a hoop, gets lots of tatoos, and cuts and runs when he isn't strong enough to carry a team on his own back. No wonder no one buys magazines anymore

[paddles]

12:13 PM on 11/16/2010

More like "Selfish Ego of The Year"

[manface]

11:40 AM on 11/16/2010

Man of the year? He screwed over his city and his fans because he did not have the confidence to think he could finally get a ring without dwade to carry him. The ironic thing here is even though his actions betray a lack of confidence, he speaks in the third person more than anyone in sports today.

[Bados]

10:52 AM on 11/16/2010

This is insane. How on earth could they even think about nominating a guy who got sponsors to give 3 mill to the Boys & Girls Club of America.
OK OK he's a past winner of the NBA community assist award, which acknowledges the charitable and philanthropic activities of a player.
OK so he sponsor events that raise money for various causes in Akron and beyond. I'm sure everyone commenting does this.

The joke is that most of you judge James more by the feelings you got from his one hour special than you do for the charitable contributions he make to society.

Lebron should be considered a role model and here's why.

Gives his time efforts and money to positively affect society.
Unsurpassed work ethic.
Totally unselfish player( much more like Magic than Jordan.)
He's business minded and has a stated goal of becoming a billionaire He actively discusses the path to getting there with and is mentored by Warren Buffet.
You've never heard of any off court trouble.
He employs close friends and has taken his brand in his own hands.

I commend the young man for what he's done so far. Of course there has been some missteps but I'm certain at least a couple of you dont lead mistake free lives.

Truthfully It's a ridiculous honor only in that many others have done more.
The comments seem to indicate that many of your dont think he deserve sit because he rubs you the wrong way.

[SheikArbusto]

01:30 PM on 11/16/2010

More on Lebron's character

He lied to the fans
He quit during the playoffs
He makes lets Savannah go to a night club with him.

[SheikArbusto]

01:30 PM on 11/16/2010

Correction - He never lets Savannah go to club with him.

[zxrod]

10:51 AM on 11/16/2010

Horse hockey