James Making Comedy Debut At ESPY Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Sports fans know LeBron James can dunk. They'll find out what kind of comedy chops the Cleveland Cavaliers star has on the ESPY Awards. <br/><br/>The 22-year-old NBA star and late-night

Tuesday, July 10th 2007, 9:58 pm

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Sports fans know LeBron James can dunk. They'll find out what kind of comedy chops the Cleveland Cavaliers star has on the ESPY Awards.

The 22-year-old NBA star and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel are co-hosting the annual show honoring the year's best sports moments Wednesday night at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. It airs on ESPN on Sunday night.

``I'm not really a comedian,'' James said after rehearsals Tuesday. ``I'm just a funny person. All my stuff is kind of on the fly. I'm all about doing things that are unexpected.''

James will be the second athlete to host the show, joining seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who did a ribald monologue last year.

``I know how far I can go with things,'' James said. ``I'm not that type of guy to single out anybody. I'm a team player.''

Kimmel made no such promises.

``I'm not really looking to mock anybody, but there are certain things that have to be addressed and I will,'' he said. ``Hopefully, (Barry) Bonds will show up and Kobe Bryant.''

Kimmel said the sight of him and the 6-foot-8 James on stage will remind viewers of ``Twins'' co-stars Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

``A lot of athletes are guarded and they learn to speak in cliches and they learn how to never say anything,'' Kimmel said about James. ``He doesn't seem too worried about embarrassing himself.''

The 39-year-old comedian said James has ``a little surprise performance'' planned.

James wouldn't provide details, but said, ``It's not basketball. It's not bashful, either.''