{"id":233520,"date":"2016-12-13T13:21:55","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T20:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=233520"},"modified":"2016-12-13T13:21:55","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T20:21:55","slug":"michael-phelps-honored-as-greatest-olympian-of-all-time-by-sports-illustrated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/michael-phelps-honored-as-greatest-olympian-of-all-time-by-sports-illustrated\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Phelps Honored as Greatest Olympian of All Time by Sports Illustrated"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time Inc.\u2019s (NYSE: TIME) Sports Illustrated honored LeBron James<\/strong> as the 2016 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year at a star-studded gala at Barclays Center in New York on Monday<\/span> night. Grammy award-winning artist Jay Z paid tribute to the Cleveland Cavaliers star in a speech in which he recognized his transcendent year on and off the court.<\/p>\n

James said: “This award is for my wife. This award is for my mother. This award is for my three kids back home \u2026\u00a0This award is for the great Muhammad Ali, for Bill Russell, for Jim Brown, for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\u2026. So as I stand up here, as the recipient of the 2016 Sportsperson of the Year, this isn\u2019t about me \u2013 this is much bigger than me and I just want to say thank you to everyone.”<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Jay Z on LeBron James: \u201cLeBron James has made all of those around him better on and off the court. We acknowledge and recognize all he has done for the game. But, tonight<\/span> we say thank you. Not just for your commitment to basketball, but for all you\u2019ve done for the community. And thank you for how you\u2019ve enriched the lives of all those around you. We messed around and got a triple double in real life.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Lonnie Ali<\/strong> and Peyton Manning<\/strong> honored iconic athletes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown<\/strong> and Bill Russell<\/strong> with the SI Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. Both Abdul-Jabbar and Brown were in attendance to accept the award and share their thoughts on legacy.<\/p>\n

Brown said, “So an old man must realize that his days are numbered and an old man should reach out to the young men and encourage them to take their legacy to another height. LeBron is another one of those individuals I admire tremendously.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Michael Phelps<\/strong> was celebrated as the greatest Olympian of all time by fellow Olympians; gymnast Aly Raisman<\/strong>, swimmer Tom Dolan<\/strong> and track & field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Said Phelps of his historic year: \u201cFor me being able to have one more year where I came back and finished things\u00a0exactly how I wanted, I know there are some people out there who know what that feels like,\u00a0I feel like I’m on top of the world. I was able to get married this year, have my first child. I literally feel like the luckiest man in the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Watch Michael Phelps’ Acceptance Speech (Video Courtesy: Sports Illustrated):<\/p>\n