On Friday night, word emerged that Grant Wahl, a legendary sports journalist who was covering the soccer World Cup in Qatar, had died at the age of 48.
He had recently suffered from what appeared to be an upper respiratory infection, and after receiving treatment for chest discomfort, it was believed he had come down with a case of bronchitis.
Although Wahl had most covered soccer during his career, he penned a cover story for Sports Illustrated that introduced the world to a high school basketball phenom named LeBron James in 2002.
James commented on Wahl’s passing after his Los Angeles Lakers lost in overtime to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
LeBron James: 'I'm very fond of Grant [Wahl] and having that cover shoot— me being a teenager and him covering that, it was a pretty cool thing. And he was always pretty cool to be around. He spent a lot of time in my hometown of Akron covering me over the course of time.' pic.twitter.com/inV2KB8nNG
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) December 10, 2022
After Wahl’s piece on James, the hype grew, and with a few exceptions, James has met or exceeded the hype that has surrounded him since.
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