Tennis.com

Sports Illustrated's ballyhooed and coveted title of Sportsman of the Year typically has sidebar features involving athletes choosing among their peers. Famous types tapping sports stars. Amuse-bouches like that. This year is no different, and interestingly, leading off the choices highlighted today, Charles Barkley of all people lauds Andy Murray as his Sportsman of the Year.

Also in the mix: Champion skier/fan girl Lindsay Vonn predictably shouts out her buddy Roger Federer, and the had-to-Google-him music "star" Kendrick Lamar praises Serena Williams. Of the lot, Lamar's pick has the most sway—and swagger. He's well versed about Serena's personal story, by the sound of it, and her results in 2012 speak for themselves: Wimbledon singles and doubles titles, Olympic gold medals, the U.S. Open singles trophy, and the WTA year-end championships mantle. She finished the last seven months of the season with a 48-2 record. What's more, Serena now harbors 15 Grand Slam singles crowns in all, gleefully close to Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova's 18. That mark was once a lofty goal to match, now seemingly well within reach for her. And she has four Olympic golds to date, with intent to play in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016, and with sister Venus Williams.

Elsewhere on the celebs-meet-athletes roster are a few C-list actors and entertainers delighting in their favorites, along with a few votes for Eli Manning and even one for Peyton Manning, yet to finish his first full season back after a one-year layoff, from a NASCAR driver. Notably, SI's ace tennis scribes, S.L. Price and Jon Wertheim, pick Serena and Murray, respectively, and in persuasive fashion.

YOUR TURN: Who would be your own Sportsman of the Year, in tennis and in sports in general?

It should come as no surprise that your resident Spin keeper agrees with a number of others: simply Serena.

—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)