LeBron James: ‘Muhammad Ali Was The Greatest Of All Time Because Of What He Did Outside The Ring’

"He was the greatest of all time because of what he did outside of the ring." –@KingJames on Muhammad Ali… https://t.co/aaGLcGY4Vi

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 4, 2016

Yesterday’s media session at the NBA Finals included a lot of questions about Muhammad Ali’s impact and how he impacted player’s lives. When LeBron took the podium, he answered with a touching, poignant tribute to the late Ali and credited the boxer’s work outisde the ring for breaking down barriers and making it possible for James to be able to have a worldwide influence.

From NBA.com

“So many thoughts come to my mind when I think about the man who passed away yesterday. What he represented, as a kid, I gravitated towards him because he was a champion, but I only knew as a kid what he did inside the ring. As I got older and started to be more knowledgable about sport in general and about the guys who paved the way for guys like myself, I understood that he is the greatest of all time, and he was the greatest of all-time because of what he did outside of the ring. Obviously we knew how great of a boxer he was, but I think that was only 20% of what made him as great as he was.

 

“When an icon like Muhammad Ali passes away, it’s just very emotional. It’s also gratifying to know that a guy, one man, would sacrifice so much of his individual life knowing that it would better the next generation of men and women after him. Today I can sit and go to China and make trips to China and all over the world and people know my name and know my face — I give all credit to Muhammad Ali, because he was the first icon. He is the GOAT. He’s the greatest of all-time and it has zero to do with his accomplishments inside the ring.”