Rory McIlroy is by a distance the Irish sportsperson of the decade, writes Kieran Shannon.

Just as the screams of history and legacy can make the greats try to play on one leg, nature has a cruel and sudden way of reminding them that even they are mortals.

While football has rarely before had a decade like this one where two players have been streets out on their own, basketball during the same period hasn’t even had such a contest.

Although he would be lambasted after The Decision, with people in his hometown of Cleveland so scorned they’d burn his Cavaliers jersey, history has proven that LeBron James made the right call that summer of 2010 by opting to join the Miami Heat.

To watch LeBron James play basketball is to witness the qualities that distinguish the truly great player in every sport.

The only statline James’s critics were interested in was that he was now three from eight in the NBA finals, in contrast to Michael Jordan’s flawless six for six record.

There is no other team sport that is more reliant on one position consistently throughout a contest as a gridiron team is on its quarterback writes Kieran Shannon.

Can LeBron James lift a fourth NBA title and be compared to Michael Jordan as the sport’s GOAT, or will he lose in the finals for the sixth time? asks Kieran Shannon

One victory left for the Golden State Warriors to claim another title. Not the one as NBA champions. The one as the best team ever.

Saracens’ trophy hunters may not have achieved greatness yet, but Billy Vunipola believes they are striving to bring Barcelona-esque levels of domination to European rugby.

Federer’s longevity is rooted in how emotionally unaffected he was by setbacks.

The drought is over for Cleveland, and the debate is over as well.

Two Irish sport stars have been named in Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s highest paid athletes in the world.

LeBron James savoured every bump from Kobe Bryant in the low post.

The man who changed the way basketball was played died on January 30, aged 95.

There can be few things more irksome and irritating as a GAA player than losing a game in Croke Park and then finding you’re one of the players being drug-tested straight after.

I must be hanging around in the wrong circles.

The King is Dead. Long live the King!

Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant, arguably the best NBA player of his generation, will retire at the end of this season.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

FIFA 16’s trailer features cameos from some of the world’s best footballers…and Kobe Bryant!

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is set for nine months out after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury.

For many years, England worried about squeezing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into the same midfield. Now America frets about getting them into the same league, writes Larry Ryan.

Although we think they may be over-estimating the friendship between the Liverpool captain and our own Robbie Keane.

LeBron James returned to Miami for the first time on Christmas Day but there was no generosity afforded from the Heat who saw off his Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91.

It’s hard to think of as bad a team that’s been as compelling to follow as the current Los Angeles Lakers.

For a guy whose skills you can only admire, doesn’t Cristiano Ronaldo make himself so hard to like?

Turkish Airlines could be poised to succeed RaboDirect as sponsors of the Pro12 tournament.

Most basketball fans with even the slightest bit of self-respect become worn out pretty quickly by whatever the New York Knicks are selling.

BASKETBALL IRELAND NATIONAL CUP SEMI-FINAL:

Kobe Bryant and Messi face off in selfie showdown

One of the signposts welcoming traffic to Brooklyn from Queens calls on those who pass by to “Believe the Hype”, paraphrasing that classic Public Enemy hip-hop track.

Writing off Pádraig Harrington is a bit like writing off Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky — an exercise that’s likely to blow up in your face as the hero takes yet another horrific pummelling but somehow manages to haul himself off the canvas.

Multiple marital infidelities pitched him from the sports pages to front page headlines in 2009, but today Tiger Woods finds himself not only at the top of the world’s golf rankings but also at the pinnacle of the Forbes ‘World’s Highest Paid Athletes’.

NBA player Jason Collins caused a stir in the US this week by becoming the sport’s first active player to come out as gay, writes John Riordan

Michael Jordan turns 50 on Sunday and there couldn’t be a more appropriate day to do it.

There are big games, very big games and then there are mega games.

Back when I met Dave Hopla last March, he told a story which gives an insight into Kobe Bryant.