Is the NBA Miami Heat's Lebron James Jewish?

No, as far as we can tell Lebron James basketball superstar of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and now of the Miami Heat, is not a Jew. He was the NBA's Most Valuable Player this in 2009!

Yes, Lebron is going to Miami! And Lebron may be a Talmudist!

According to Time Magazine he is a fan of the Talmud. He nominates a businessman from Ohio for the TIME 100 list thusly:

LeBron James
The NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist is a past TIME 100 honoree
Jay Schottenstein, an Ohio business leader and philanthropist, has supported the translation and elucidation of the Talmud Bavli into English, Hebrew and French. The Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud is now utilized by more than 2 million people worldwide.

Never mind that the he uses the mysterious "elucidation" word instead of the more normal "commentary." And never mind that there is no way that they have sold 2 million copies of the Schottenstein Talmud. And mind you not that the fancy-bound book set is "utilized" by many Orthodox Jews mainly as an enhancement to the interior decoration of the bookshelves in their dens. And never mind that both the Life in Israel blog and Beliefnet have no idea why LeBron mentions the rich Jewish guy.

We have some theories, none conclusive, about why LeBron nominated Jay. You can rest assured that as soon as we solve this first rate mystery, we will let you know.

Meanwhile here is an update from the Sports by Brooks blog (warning - not very sophisticated):

It’s probably not likely that LeBron is ready to convert. At least not now, since he does have playoff preparations to worry about. Still, it’s interesting to wonder what changes would happen if King James joined the chosen people.
The Cavs’ in-game dances would exclusively feature the Horah. And concessions at Quicken Loans Arena would start serving Manischewitz wine. And instead of “Charge!”, the jumbotron would encourage fans to shout “L’Chaim!”

[repost from 5/4/09]