LeBron James Discusses Serena Williams' Impact on Sports: 'Broke so Many Barriers'

LeBron James heaped praise on Serena Williams for what she accomplished during her historic career.

On the latest episode of The Shop (starts at 34:05 mark), James said "from a dominance standpoint" and as a Black woman of power, Williams "broke so many barriers" in the sport of tennis.

In the August issue of Vogue, Williams said she was undergoing an "evolution" that would take her away from tennis, because she has "never liked the word retirement."

Following her third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanović at the U.S. Open, Williams seemed to indicate her tennis career had come to an end during an on-court interview with ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez.

"These are happy tears, I guess. I don't know," Williams said. "And I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you Venus. She's the only reason Serena Williams ever existed ... It's been a fun ride. It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on."

Before the start of the U.S. Open, James posted a video message online to congratulate her for a historic career.

There's a strong argument that Williams is the most dominant athlete of the 21st century so far. Her 23 grand-slam singles titles are the second-most in history for a men's or women's player, trailing only Margaret Court (24).

Williams' 73 career singles titles are the fifth-most in WTA history. She also won 23 doubles titles, including 14 grand slams.

Per Nikara Johns of Yahoo Sports, Williams will continue to break barriers through her sponsorship deal with Nike even when she's no longer playing tennis.

Johns noted Williams and Nike already created the Serena Williams Design Crew design apprenticeship program in 2019 that promotes "diversity in design and establish a new generation of design talent at Nike and beyond."

Williams was also a key voice in developing The Nike Athlete Think Tank that gives athletes a forum to provide insights and thoughts about creating easier access to sports and community.