Brandon Dill/Associated Press

NBA luminaries LeBron James, Yao Ming and Adam Silver were all listed among Fortune magazine's 50 greatest leaders Thursday. Yao was the highest of the trio, sitting 26th, with James and Silver 31st and 47th, respectively.

As USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt noted, it was a particularly notable achievement for the NBA, since no other American sports organization had a single representative on the list:

The magazine praised Yao for his social advocacy in his homeland China, particularly his fights against animal abuses. Yao's efforts have also encouraged other prominent voices to speak up against issues that were previously taboo.

James is credited for returning home to Cleveland in the offseason and embracing a more prominent role as the vice president of the National Basketball Players Association. The Cleveland Cavaliers star has also been vocal regarding race relations in the United States.

Fortune included Silver in large part because of his handling of the Donald Sterling affair and the proactive nature with which he has acted as NBA commissioner.

One could debate all day as to whether any—or all three—of James, Yao and Silver are truly among the world's 50 greatest leaders.

What's not in question is how much they have impacted not only the game of basketball but society as a whole. And with Yao and James both under 35 years old, they could have an even greater impact in the years to come.