LeBron James paid tribute to Grant Wahl, a sports writer who notably penned his first Sports Illustrated cover story in 2002 after he passed away while covering the World Cup. Not forgotten but gone.

LeBron James used Twitter to highlight Grant Wahl’s positive influence on his life and profession one day after learning of his terrible passing.

The NBA player tweeted on December 9: “You had a significant influence on me and my family and I’m very thankful for you. “a superb human being and journalist. Grant Wahl’s “Rest in Paradise.”

Wahl notably wrote “The Chosen One,” the Sports Illustrated cover story from 2002, about James, an Ohio basketball player who was 16 at the time. Wahl covered James while he was a high school student.

At a news conference following the Dec. 9 game in Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers player, who is now 37, also paid homage to Wahl. Even when I advanced in rank and became professional and he switched sports, I always watched from a distance, he admitted. “Whenever his name would be mentioned, I would always recall being a youngster and having Grant live in our building.”

He said, “It’s a horrible loss,” James

The journalist passed away in Qatar at the age of 49 while covering the World Cup, according to a statement from U.S. Soccer.

“The entire U.S. Soccer family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl,” the organization wrote in the statement. “Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists: teams, players, coaches and the many personalities that make soccer, unlike any sport.”

After passing out during the quarterfinal game between Argentina and the Netherlands, Wahl died. According to a statement provided to NBC News by a representative of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Grant “during yesterday night’s quarterfinal match between Argentina and Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium media tribune. On-site emergency medical care was provided right away, and it continued when he was transported by ambulance to Hamad General Hospital.”

His death’s official cause has not been made public.

Not just James but other athletes have paid Wahl homage on social media. On Twitter, tennis legend Billie Jean King expressed her sadness at the writer’s demise and praised him for his achievements outside of the sports industry.

On December 10, King tweeted, “A gifted journalist, Grant was a champion for the LGBTQ community & a leading voice for women’s soccer.” “He elevated people whose tales needed to be told by using his platform. Gratitude for his family.”

Tyler Adams, the captain of the United States men’s national soccer team, expressed his “deepest condolences” to Celine Gounder, Wahl’s widow, and to everyone who knew him after the squad was eliminated from the World Cup by the Netherlands in the round of 16. Adams stated on Twitter that “as players, we have a great deal of respect for the job of journalists & Grant’s was a gigantic voice in soccer that has regrettably fallen mute.”

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