"No question about it" - LeBron James once conceded Ken Griffey Jr. as his all-time favorite MLB player
The NBA's all-time leading scorer LeBron James once admitted that Ken Griffey Jr. is his favorite MLB player of all time. James is 38 years old, which means he is old enough to have seen Griffey's prime. The slugger was a special talent, and it caught the eye of James.
On an Instagram Live session in 2020, the NBA superstar revealed his feelings:
"Favorite MLB player of all time? Come on, man. Ken Griffey, Jr! The Kid! Ain't even a question. No question about it!"
The Seattle Mariners superstar debuted in 1989, when the Los Angeles Lakers superstar was five years old. He may not have been watching at that time, but he was certainly watching over the next few years.
Griffey retired in 2010, the first year James joined the Miami Heat. For much of James' life, Griffey Jr. was one of the faces of baseball. He would go on to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2016, something that will happen to James shortly after he retires from basketball.
LeBron James loves Ken Griffey Jr.
There are very few players who can stake a claim as having one of the greatest athletes of all time being their supporter. LeBron James has a very strong claim as the best NBA player to ever play, and some would say the same for Ken Griffey Jr.
The fact that the arguable greatest basketball player ever called Griffey his favorite is incredibly high praise. It's not at all unwarranted, either. He recorded 83.8 bWAR over his 22-year career.
He had one of the best left-handed swings of all time, and he used it to the tune of a career .284 batting average and 136 OPS+. He hit 630 home runs, becoming one of the few members of that exclusive club.
Griffey was one of the best players to ever swing a bat, and he deserves all the credit that James once gave him. The fact that someone would question it threw James off, because that's how good Griffey was for the Mariners, Cincinatti Reds and Chicago White Sox.