Lebron James named as the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year

AP Photo/Chris Carlson

The King has some additional hardware.

LeBron James was named on Thursday, as the Associated Press' 2013 Male Athlete of the Year. He beat out quarterback Peyton Manning and driver Jimmie Johnson for the nod with 31 out of the 96 votes. This was a day after tennis star Serena Williams was named as the AP's Female Athlete of the Year.

James joins such sporting legends as boxers Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, Olympians Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Michael Phelps, and the likes of Joe Montana and Tiger Woods as winners.

He is the third NBA player to be bestown with this honor, following Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

The award caps off a memorable year for LeBron, who took home his fourth MVP and second NBA title, and is on his way to laying the foundation for another possible title run.

Speaking to the AP, LeBron actually spoke of being more than just a basketball player:

"I'm chasing something and it's bigger than me as a basketball player. I believe my calling is much higher than being a basketball player. I can inspire people. Youth is huge to me. If I can get kids to look at me as a role model, as a leader, a superhero ... those things mean so much, and that's what I think I was built for. I was put here for this lovely game of basketball, but I don't think this is the biggest role that I'm going to have."

He adds:

"I don't think I've changed much this year. I've just improved and continued to improve on being more than just as a basketball player. I've matured as a leader, as a father, as a husband, as a friend."

Including their Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron appeared in 98 games in 2013 (with three games still to be played), with the Heat winning 78 of them. That, of course, includes their memorable seven-game NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs.