The growth in LeBron James has been vast since he first broke into the NBA as an 18-year-old. And it shows every time he’s asked about subjects that require the kind of answers and thought that you don’t normally see and hear from someone who never attended college.

As is normal these days in the media, LeBron gets inquiries about things other than basketball. Maybe that’s a sign that the media feels comfortable raising it with him and perhaps a sign of respect as well. Or maybe LeBron, because of his visibility, will generate more attention than, say, the seventh man in the rotation.

Of late, LeBron offered his thoughts on Colin Kaepernick … and didn’t hold back to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:

“The only reason I could say he’s not on a team is because the way he took a knee,” James said. “That’s the only reason. I watch football every Sunday, every Thursday, every Monday night. I see all these quarterbacks — first-string, second-team, third-team quarterbacks — that play sometimes when the starter gets hurt or are starters that play. Kap is better than a lot of those guys. Let’s just be honest.”

Earlier in the week, James shared the latest cover of GQ on his Instagram account. Kaepernick, who is on the cover, was named the magazine’s citizen of the year.

…

James’ comments Sunday, spoken at famed Cass Technical High School in Detroit — the alma mater of many prominent African-American performers including Diana Ross and Della Reese — were as pointed as he’s ever been on the subject of Kaepernick and his role in shedding light on the injustices facing minorities in the United States.

“I’ve commended Kap, and for him to sacrifice everything for the greater good for everyone, for what he truly believed in, the utmost respect to him,” James continued. “Obviously he had a vision like Martin Luther King and like some of our all-time greats that people couldn’t see further than what they were doing at the point and time. And Muhammad Ali and things of that nature. When it’s something that’s new and it’s something that people are not educated about or don’t understand what your beliefs are all about, people are so quick to judge and people are so quick to say that what you’re doing is wrong. For him to sacrifice the sport that he plays and to sacrifice the things he’s done his whole life because he knew what he believed in, I salute him. I salute and respect that.”