LeBron James Covers TIME100 Sports’ 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026
He is the all-time leading scorer with over 40k career regular-season points. And over 50k points when combined with his playoff performances. Furthermore, he has played longer than any other player in NBA history. Now LeBron James is the cover star for TIME100 Sports’ 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026.
The iconic journal took to social media to reveal their latest cover. Regarding James TIME said, “LeBron James wrote the blueprint for exceeding expectations. Here’s how our first-ever TIME100 Sports cover star redefined the modern athlete.”
Senior Sports Correspondent for TIME, Sean Gregory added, “On a monumental sports week — NBA Finals, World Cup, UFC at White House — TIME has dropped our first ever TIME100 Sports package: the most influential people in the athletic world. King James is on the cover.”
LeBron James Covers TIME100 Sports’ 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026
In his highly-anticipated interview with TIME, LeBron reveals that he is not taking anyone in NBA history over himself. Why? James believes that none of the greats wouldn’t choose themselves if given the choice. LeBron told TIME,
“I’m not taking nobody over me. There’s no question. But I think Mike will say the same thing. Rest his soul, Kobe will say the same thing. Magic will say the same thing. Bird will say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late great Wilt. Kareem. I don’t think none of us are going to take somebody else. If there’s a general manager and he’s eyeballing all of us on a baseline, with the No. 1 pick, it’s gonna be hard not to take me, champ.”
In this exclusive interview that is also a great read, James discussed when he might finally leave the game. A middle-aged James once again produced at an All-Star level in 2025–26, his 23rd NBA season. So then, it’s clear there’s some gas still in the tank.
Nonetheless, for James, there are a few strong indicators that will spotlight that his time is done. He says, “It’s up to the mind. Where the mind goes, the body will lay. When I’m not in love with getting to the arenas on game days five hours before to start my preparation, if I’m out of love with getting to practice 2½ hours beforehand, then I know I’ll be done. Because then I’m going to start cheating the game.”
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