There is no arguing that this has been a tough season for LeBron James. Despite playing at an elite level in Year 20, King James and the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals within just 4 games.
This was certainly a difficult end to the season for LeBron and even made him contemplate a potential early retirement. Although the King fell short of his goals in the NBA, he has been given a rare honor for a racing event called Le Mans. Let us take a better look at it and how James feels about his new designation.
LeBron James will start off the Le Mans centenary race
To those who do not know, the Le Mans is an “endurance classic” sports car race that has captivated racing fans for many years now. In fact, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the event and is likely to be highly anticipated and viewed by racing fans.
While the cars wait to start racing, a person is given the honor of waving the start flag. Important celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Steve McQueen have done the same in the past. This year, the 4x NBA champion and recently crowned all-time leading scorer will be waving the start flag for 62 racers.
LeBron has always shown interest in other domains, racing being one of them. In fact, he is a partner with Fenway Sports Group which also co-owns RFK Racing NASCAR team. When asked to express his thoughts and emotions regarding being given this duty, here is what King James had to say.
“There’s nothing like seeing and experiencing sports at their highest level…It’s an honor for me to be part of this historic moment in motorsport and help celebrate the centenary of one of the biggest sporting events in the world.”
.@KingJames to wave the tricolour at Le Mans 🇫🇷
The @NBA all-time leading scorer will give the start at this year’s centenary event of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 🔥#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary
📸 Photo credit: Presse Sports pic.twitter.com/aQq18V35ax— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 5, 2023
All of this speaks to the globalization and growth of basketball. Faces of the NBA like Stephen Curry and LeBron James have been recognized in spheres outside of the NBA due to their accomplishments in it. In any case, we are glad to see that LeBron has been acknowledged by the motorsports community.