One of the most anticipated podcast episodes of the year was released today, and it did not disappoint. LeBron James joined Jason and Travis Kelce on their New Heights podcast to talk about everything from growing up in northeast Ohio to the many highlights of his NBA career. The most interesting part of their conversation may have been when LBJ opened up about his dream of playing in the NFL.
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The topic came up when Travis asked LeBron, “We know you played football back in the day at St. Vincent-St. Mary, man. Has it ever actually crossed your mind what you could possibly do in the NFL?” LeBron responded that it absolutely had, and he went on to talk about the one time in his career that he actually gave it serious thought.
“The only time I’ve really taken it super duper serious, I think it was 2011 when we had the NBA lockout. I didn’t know when we were gonna make the deal with the owners and get our league back going, so I actually thought about it a little bit back then. I was still young enough to get out there with y’all, but that’s the only time I’ve actually seriously considered it.”
LeBron’s unwavering focus on basketball has helped him become arguably the greatest player in NBA history, but he admitted to the Kelces that even though he seriously considered it only during the lockout, he’s always dreamed of playing in the NFL.
“I’ve had serious dreams about this s*** all the time. All the time! In my dream, the ball is never kicked off. It’s me in the warmups, it’s me coming out, running my routes, and then right when the game starts, I would like f***** wake up or some s***. I’m like OK, that lets me know that I’m not supposed to be out there.”
Fans have always speculated about what LeBron’s closest football comp would be, and now they get to hear it from the King himself
When asked who his biggest NFL comparison would have been, LeBron threw out a bunch of fun names. He thought he could be a mix between Gronk and Randy Moss, which is a terrifying thing to think about, although LeBron said of Moss, “He’s a lot smaller than me. He runs a lot faster than me, but he’s a lot smaller than me.” LeBron then said that he had a similar build to Calvin Johnson, and also shouted out Tony Gonzalez as someone who played both basketball and football.
James played two years of high school football, and he was considered a top recruit if he would have focused on the gridiron instead of the hardwood. During his sophomore and junior years at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, he caught 103 passes for 2,065 yards and 23 touchdowns while being named an All-Ohio wide receiver both years. A broken wrist kept him from playing his senior season, at which point he decided to focus on basketball exclusively.
Though Michael Jordan’s attempt to play professional baseball never resulted in him getting past AA, there seems to be no doubt that LeBron’s size and athleticism could have helped him become an NFL player if he had put his mind to it. He reportedly had offers from the Cowboys and Seahawks to try out during the 2011 lockout, but the NBA worked out a deal before LeBron’s football career could get off the ground.
Now in his 22nd NBA season, LeBron is still out there putting together one of the most impressive careers in sports history. Fans can see him in action tonight when his Lakers take on the Heat.
