LeBron to appear on GQ cover in February

CANTON, OHIO (TICKER) —After gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated as a teenager, LeBron James will pose for another popular magazine - GQ.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ superstar forward will be the cover man for the February issue of the popular men’s magazine, according to the Canton Repository on Monday.

“Growing up, you always see people on the cover of GQ, and you never thought you’d be on the cover of GQ,” James told the newspaper. “But I’ve done some things I never thought I’d be able to do so far.”

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft, the 24-year-old James somehow has lived up to the enormous hype heaped upon him, beginning with appearances on the covers of both SI and ESPN the Magazine as a high school junior.

James currently is the reigning NBA scoring champion and perhaps has grabbed the mantle as the league’s best player from Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

It is no surprise, however, that James is expanding his profile outside the basketball arena.

After all, he has admitted his goal to become the first billionaire athlete, calling Warren Buffet an advisor in that quest.

James, who currently stars for the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers, also has posed for the covers of magazines like Fortune and Vogue, which made “The King” the first black male to appear on its cover.

GQ brings a different connotation, though. The magazine is considered to only portray the cutting edge in suave men’s fashions, putting James at the head of the class in yet another category.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, James also heads the free-agent class in 2010, when he can opt out of his contract and hit the open market. Many speculate that James would like to be in larger markets like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago to increase visibility for his business ventures.