LeBron James says Calvin Johnson is 'amazing'

Turns out LeBron James is a big fan of Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, also known as "the LeBron James of football" according to Bears cornerback Charles Tillman.

With the Miami Heat in town to face the Detroit Pistons, the reigning NBA MVP told reporters after a Friday afternoon shootaround that he was amazed by Megatron's record-breaking 2012 season, according to Dave Birkett and Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press.

Johnson broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving record in last week's loss to the Falcons with 225 yards on 11 receptions, giving him 1,892 receiving yards this season on a career-high 117 catches.

For those without calculators, that means Johnson is averaging 126 yards-per-game, and needs just 108 yards in Sunday's finale against the Bears to become the first player in history to record 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

James, an all-state wide receiver in high school, called Johnson "amazing" and "a monster."

"That's big time, to beak that Jerry Rice record. Man, he's amazing...I don't know him at all. I think I've met him. But I respect him a lot. He's incredible."

As for Tillman dubbing Johnson "the LeBron James of football?"

"That's awesome...That's awesome."