Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James is known for going hard in the paint, but he exhibited a softer, more tender side on Twitter on Friday when he penned an open letter to Lauren Hill. The world learned on Friday morning that the Mount St. Joseph college basketball player had died from rare form of cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glimoma (DIPG). Hill played only a handful of games before she entered hospice care, but her spirit inspired a nation — and James.

The letter reads:

Dear Lauren Hill,
You are the true definition of strength, courage, power, leadership, etc etc! Your time spent on earth will never be forgotten.  … I never got the chance to meet u in person buy know you inspired me the whole time! For every life u touched, u made the biggest impact of them by just being YOU!! You’re in a far better place now and please don’t have too much fun up there w/o all you family and friends. Can u please tell my Grandma I said hello. Don’t be afraid, she knows you cause we spoke about u plenty of times. Until we officially meet again, take care and continue to be that LEADER we all love! #RIPLaurenHill
Sincerely,
LeBron James

As James said, this isn’t the first time he’s thought of Hill and looked to her for inspiration. Although he never met Hill in person, in November, James posted a photo of Hill playing for MSJ on Instagram, with the caption:

“You are simply and truly ‘AMAZING’ Lauren Hill!!! Thank you for inspiring me and I’ll try my best to match you! Congrats on your game. Also be looking out for a package from I to You! You’re Awesome!!!”

Correction: This post was updated to fix a misstatement about the number of college basketball games Hill played.