Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is back on the cover of Sports Illustrated, but this time he’s accompanied.
Twenty years after LeBron appeared in the 2002 edition of Sports Illustrated entitled “The Chosen One,” the four-time NBA champion is back on the cover – now with sons Bryce, 15, and Brony, 17.
In the feature, the 37-year-old talks about staying in the NBA long enough to play with Brony and possibly staying in the league even longer to play with Bryce.
“We don’t even talk much about the future,” LeBron told reporter Chris Ballard. “I closed it because I love talking to basketball gods and seeing if things work out. I have always set goals in my career and spoken to the gods of basketball, and they all listen. We hope you can hear the last one.”
He later added, “I like to throw things away, but I’m not one to [say] what’s going to ensue in the next 2 to three years. I’m a visionary, but I’m also a man living in the moment.” LeBron says he feels he has more seasons to play in the league – and just two years from his last title in 2020, that’s not the case. Out of the question.
“I felt like I could play for a while,” he told the magazine. “So it’s all about my body, but more importantly, my mind.”
“If my mind can stay sharp, fresh and motivated, then the sky is not the limit for me,” adds LeBron. “I can handle that. But we’ll see.”
Sports Illustrated featured the trio on their cover with the slogan “Chosen Sons”.
LeBron signed a $97.1 million contract extension with the Lakers earlier this month, meaning he will remain in Los Angeles until at least 2024.
Overtime makes LeBron the highest-paid player in NBA history, according to CNBC, with career earnings of $532 million.