Sports Illustrated May Issue Cover Star Trevor Lawrence Is Predestined For His NFL Moment

Inside this issue: The numerical curiosity of basketball’s triple-double; Tokyo Olympics buzz and dissent; the busiest arms in baseball; and more

In Sports Illustrated’s May issue -- available online and on newsstands Thursday Apr. 22. -- Michael Rosenberg interviews Trevor Lawrence, the best quarterback to come into the NFL draft in nearly a decade. Seemingly predestined for this moment since he was a little kid, Lawrence brings a novel outlook to the NFL – football is his passion, but not his identity. Also in this issue: Ryan Lochte tries to recapture Olympic glory, Dikembe Motumbo’s coffee adventure, and Jon Wertheim’s investigation of the forty-year mystery surrounding the death of Triple Crown winner Pleasant Colony’s veterinarian.

On the Cover

There is not much drama at the top of the NFL Draft – the extremely centered superstar quarterback and April cover star Trevor Lawrence is going No. 1. In the May issue, senior writer Michael Rosenberg explores Lawrence’s key to success – a conviction that there is more to life than football – and why the NFL might need Trevor Lawrence more than Trevor Lawrence needs the NFL.

May Issue Features

• The Triple-Double: Alex Prewitt examines the love and lore of basketball’s box score holy grail. It is a cool statistical oddity, an alleged marker of greatness, and players will go to ridiculous lengths to get one. But really, what’s so special about the triple-double?

• Ryan Lochte’s Return: Ryan Lochte, the second-most-decorated men’s swimmer in Olympic history, rose fast to the top of the swimming world. He fell even faster – his career derailed by doping suspensions, scandal and some bizarre behavior at the 2016 Rio Games. At age 36, Lochte is training for a long-shot spot on this year’s Olympic team. Contributing writer Brian Burnsed explains how glory in Tokyo will change everything for Lochte.

• The Unsung Heroes: Everyone in the majors throws gas these days, but some of the most valuable arms in baseball belong to middle-aged lifers who throw 60-mile-an-hour meatballs, day after day after day. Michael McKnight explores the world of batting practice pitchers, the unsung heroes who help keep their teams’ sluggers in the zone.

• Jewel of the Crown: Forty years ago this spring, Pleasant Colony won horse racing's Triple Crown. But a pall hangs over what should be an uplifting memory of triumph and achievement: the enduring mystery surrounding the violent end of Janice Runkle, the veterinarian who was found dead on the shore of Lake Michigan a few months after she helped the horse run to glory. SI True Crime reporting by Jon Wertheim.

Also in this issue:

• Leading Off: Three unique photos chart all the places an NBA player goes during a game: Full games of Russell Westbrook, Ja Morant and Luka Doncic captured in single images.
• Scorecard: Kenji Hall’s Letter from Tokyo, on fruitless protests and the public’s disappointment over the country’s insistence on hosting the Olympics this year.
• Gameplan: Reimagining classic baseball cards with an artist’s scary spin from Mark Bechtel.
• SI Full Frame: Photographer Erick Rasco remembers his classic American Pharoah Triple Crown shot.
• Where Are They Now: Former NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, now a coffee mogul and international man of philanthropy, profiled by Justin Barrasso.
• Stephanie Apstein writes on Jose Altuve’s battle with baseball’s y-word (the yips).

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