Charting The Reign of King James

Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Benedict has an eye for the greats, or as they're commonly referred to by fans, G.O.A.T.s — the greatest of all time. His biography, "Tiger Woods" was the basis for a two-part docu-series on HBO, and his book "Dynasty," covering the unbeatable New England Patriots team led by Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick has been ordered as an upcoming series for Hulu. His latest biography of an American superstar is "LeBron."  Known as King James to his NBA fans, Lebron James is undeniably one of the greatest to ever play the game. I spoke with Benedict ahead of a talk he'll give at House of Books in Kent, Conn., on Friday, May 5, at 6 p.m.

Alexander Wilburn: When we talk about these larger-than-life sports figures you’ve written about — Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and now LeBron James — who almost transcend their role as just athletes to become pillars in the culture, what makes an icon?

Jeff Benedict: To me, those three are the transcendent athletes of the 21st century. I’d add a fourth in Serena Williams. The reason I wanted to write about Tom, Tiger, and LeBron is that they’re not just athletes, they’re global figures. In order to be interesting enough to write a book about someone they have to be more than just a great athlete. Tiger and LeBron were certainly helped by being the two global spokesmen for Nike — Michael Jordan was in the ‘80s and ‘90s — Tom was helped by leading the greatest sports team that we’ve seen in this century. There have obviously been a lot of endorsements and business opportunities. Tom Brady has built a brand as a businessman. That’s also what separates them, they built businesses while they were playing at the peak of their careers. Traditionally most athletes have waited until they retired to try and start a business.

AW: The movie “Air” directed by Ben Affleck is out now about the creation of the Air Jordan. Nike and Michael Jordan teamed up to create a cultural legacy that’s still relevant 30 years later. Why hasn’t LeBron captured that?

JB: Jordan was first. Whenever you’re first, that’s the legacy that lasts, and it should. When he joined Nike it was a low-grade sneaker company. People only bought Nikes if they were going jogging. He was really responsible for catapulting Nike into a global company. In LeBron’s case, he came second, the baton was passed to him from Michael. What LeBron did differently is he really is responsible for opening up China. He has gone to China every single year since he’s been in the NBA, he’s really opened up the foreign markets for Nike. People in America really underestimate the significance of that. We’re so insular here, most Americans don’t really recognize how much impact LeBron has had with Nike in markets that we don’t pay attention to. But China is the biggest market in the world, and LeBron James is the most recognized athlete in China. Michael Jordan was a ground breaker and a trailblazer and the Air Jordan brand is never going to be eclipsed because it is so intricately married to Nike, and “Air,” which I loved, did a good job of showing that. LeBron, he’s more than just Nike. He’s in movies and TV and HBO comedies. He owns a piece of the Boston Red Sox. His portfolio is more diverse.

AW: Just this year LeBron James broke the scoring record previously held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Is that bittersweet?

JB: We’re talking about a handful of players who become the all-time leading scorer, hit the most home runs, and won the most Super Bowls…we can count those players on one hand. When you set a record like that, you’d love for that record to stand forever. But players also realize they’re always going to be someone who’s going to come along and threaten the record. I thought Kareem was gracious. These records are so rarely broken, the person who previously held them usually isn’t alive. So it’s actually neat that Kareem was here to see that happen. That record that LeBron just broke — that record just stood for a long time.

AW: Thinking about his legacy: Jordon was a Bull, Kareem was a Laker, Larry Bird was a Celtic — who will claim LeBron?

JB: By the way, people dismiss the fact that Kareem spent a huge swath of his career as a Buck and he didn’t win there. He didn’t win any championships until he went to the Lakers and paired up with Magic Johnson.

AW: But we think of him as a Laker.

JB: No, that is how we think about him, and you’re absolutely right. LeBron is different from them, and different from all of the great players who came before. He's "The World Traveler." He’s been to four cities and he has delivered a championship to every team he’s played on. That’s what distinguishes him. I wasn’t knocking Kareem when I said he played for the Bucks, but he only won championships with one team [Editor's note: Abdul-Jabbar did win one championship with the Bucks in 1971]. Same with Jordan, same with Bird. There’s no other journeyman, no other greatest of all time, who’s in the conversation, who was able to go to all these teams and deliver.

AW: When the topic of The GOAT comes up — the greatest of all time — it’s likely you’ll get a different answer depending on the generation of the basketball fan. Is it actually worth trying to rank Kareem, Jordon, and LeBron, or should we let the different generation have their own GOATs and appreciate the players on their own?

JB: It’s great discussion material for sports talk radio, but to me, I don’t ever weigh in on that. The only people I think can really weigh in with authority are those players themselves. When you look at Michael Jordan, I like what Michael said at the pinnacle of his career and being compared to Bill Russell. He said he thought it was inappropriate to compare, because they played in different eras, and the game was very different in those eras. To me, that makes a lot of sense with Michael and LeBron as well. Michael played his last game as LeBron was being drafted. Literally, one era closed and another opened in the same summer. Sometimes history had a beautifully poetic way of unfolding. I think in the end, LeBron will be remembered for a lot of things besides his talent in basketball. That’s not a knock on Michael, he was a world-class entertainer who happened to be an athlete. LeBron has branched out into areas that Michael purposefully stayed away from, like politics and social activism. That is another form of legacy.