The Chosen One (feat. Sonny Vaccaro)
May 12, 2026
44 min
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Episode 1 · May 12, 2026
The Chosen One (feat. Sonny Vaccaro)
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The Chosen One (feat. Sonny Vaccaro)
Summary
In the season premiere, Dan, Amin, and Izzy go back to the Sports Illustrated cover that turned a teenager into an industry, re-reading the prophecy with the very people who helped craft it. Plus: a resplendent Sonny Vaccaro joins us to re-live his failed $100 million offer to bring The Kid from Akron to Adidas. All that AND real talk about LeBron's untold origin story.
Homework for this episode:
• "Ahead of His Class" by Grant Wahl (Sports Illustrated, 2002)
https://vault.si.com/vault/2002/02/18/ahead-of-his-class-ohio-high-school-junior-lebron-james-is-so-good-that-hes-already-being-mentioned-as-the-heir-to-air-jordan
Homework for the next week's episode:
• "The Decision" (ESPN, 2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afpgnb_9bA4
From our guest:
• "Legends and Soles: The Memoir of an American Original" by Sonny Vaccaro with Armen Keteyian
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/legends-and-soles-sonny-vaccaroarmen-keteyian
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