Did Caleb Williams Play Basketball In High School?

Caleb Williams was focused on just playing football in college. But not many know about his athleticism in high school. After he participated in the NBA celebrity three-point contest, many wondered if he ever played high school basketball, and for the wrong reasons. 

In case you missed it, Williams was terrible in the celebrity basketball event. He finished dead last with just four points. Even with the Chicago Bears fans in the arena cheering him on, he couldn’t muster up the skill to make some jumpers. 

After some light research on the topic, Williams’ basketball fiasco made sense. Apparently, in high school, he was also mostly focused on football. He played some baseball on the side. But it was clear during the event that the QB had never really hooped. 

 

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This was something that Williams tried to let people know via his Instagram.

“Not a hooper, y’all. Gonna go have some fun,” Williams posted to his story.

Many NFL players grew up as multi-sport athletes in high school. However, Williams’ father, Carl, recognized his son’s talent for football at a young age. He ended up becoming his son’s business manager, who built a training foundation around Caleb that set him up for professional success. 

Bears QB Caleb Williams on his Instagram story after the news came out that he’s going to be in the NBA’s Celebrity 3-Point Contest

: via Caleb’s IG pic.twitter.com/tr90iJgSFQ

— Bearsszn (@bearszn) February 12, 2026

In the end, Carl succeeded by getting his son to the NFL. But it came with the side effect that Caleb would be severely hindered in other sports. This showed itself in the worst way during the three-point competition. 

Many joked that, instead of a shot clock, the Bears QB should’ve been shown a “4th quarter” display. After a season full of late-game comebacks, it might have spurred him to perform better in the clutch. But now we’ll never know. 

All in all, this is probably the last we’ll see of Williams on the court for quite some time. As he noted, he’s not a big hooper, and he looked out of his element as he hoisted up the threes in the celebrity competition. But it was all just for fun, and now the Bears QB can say that he actually did something with his offseason while everyone else sits around.