LeBron James made an appearance on the MNF broadcast day before yesterday where he spoke about how he could have succeeded as an NFL player.
Advertisement
However, Stephen A. Smith isn’t ready to hear that talk. The Lakers star definitely has the physical talent to play in the NFL as he’s built like a modern day tight end or wide receiver. LeBron played football in high school, and not only was he good at football, he was also the number one prospect in the country at one point.
On Monday Night Football, LeBron and the Manning brothers discussed his prospects of playing in the league. Peyton even added that he would’ve thrown multiple touchdowns to LeBron if they had ever teamed up.
Peyton Manning Says He’s “Throwing 75 Touchdowns” To LeBron James If He Had Played Football With Him https://t.co/pHjR7QIFsM
— Sports Informer (@Sportsinformer3) September 28, 2021
Stephen A. Smith doesn’t think LeBron could have played more than a year in the NFL
Despite LeBron claiming that he could have been very good at football if he had continued playing, there are certainly people out there who disagree like Stephen A. Smith.
Apparently, during the 2011 NBA lockout season, LeBron was being recruited left and right by NFL teams. LeBron also revealed how the Seahawks and Cowboys had both offered him contracts to play for their teams, showing how optimistic clubs were of LeBron’s football abilities.
We could have seen @KingJames in the NFL 😳 pic.twitter.com/79YtUae7oo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 28, 2021
However, if you ask Stephen A., there’s no chance that LeBron would have made it longer than a year in the NFL. Smith’s argument revolves around LeBron’s height as being so tall would’ve meant that defenders would constantly hit him down low in the legs.
“I don’t think he would have lasted more than a year in the NFL…I think that LeBron James, the second those legs got hit, he would want no part of it. It ain’t like he’s some short dude. He’s 6’9″. He’s a big dude and those legs would be a prime target. They wouldn’t even think about hitting him high. And he would want no part of that.”
You can watch his full breakdown here:
I don’t think LEBRON would have lasted more than a year in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/r6eImVgJA0
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 28, 2021
Stephen A. does make a valid point, but it’s impossible to prove and perhaps useless to speculate about as the only way we can have a discussion on this is if LeBron ever played in the NFL. It is something interesting to consider, however.