LeBron James says he ‘absolutely’ considered trading the NBA for the NFL during the 2011 lockout

CNN
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LeBron James has accomplished almost everything you can in the NBA. But for a brief moment, it could have been a completely different story.

James is a well-known, passionate NFL fan — he’s been seen over the years at games involving his hometown Cleveland Browns — but during the 2011 NBA lockout, he “absolutely” considered switching the hardwood to the gridiron.

“I didn’t know when we were going to make the deal with the owners and get our league going again,” James said. Wednesday’s episode of the “New Heights” podcasthosted by Super Bowl-winning brothers Jason and Travis Kelce. “So I actually thought about it a bit at the time.

“I was still young enough to get out there with you guys. That’s the only time I’ve seriously considered it. I’ve had serious dreams about this shit all the time. And in my dream the ball is never kicked. It’s me in the warmups, it’s me coming out, running my routes, and right when the game starts, I wake up the hell or some shit. It tells me not to be out there.”

James is one of basketball’s greatest players of all time, but before he was drafted into the NBA in 2003, he was a high school star in both football and hoops.

He led St. Vincent-St. Mary High School to three basketball state championships, while playing wide receiver for the school, to be named First Team All-State in his second year.

James was even the subject of offers from some of college football’s biggest names, recalling that then-Ohio State head coach Jim Tressels tried to recruit him to be a dual-sport athlete before James entered the NBA draft. He was also courted by Urban Meyer, according to ESPN.

“I walked into the school (St. Vincent-St. Mary High), the coach, Jim Meyer, a great guy, probably in 1998 or ’99, and he said, ‘Hey, come here a minute. I want to show you this. What do you think of this kid?'” Urban Meyer said, according to ESPN. “I started watching the video and I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ He was six feet, whatever, apparently really big back then, too.

“He asked me what I thought and I said, ‘I want to offer him right now. Who is he?'” he continued, hoping to recruit James to Notre Dame, where Meyer was the wide receivers coach at the time .

In the end, James chose a career that involved hoops rather than goal lines, but the thought has apparently always been in his head.

When asked who he imagined he might have been compared to had he chosen the NFL, James singled out some legends.

“Probably a mix between (four-time Super Bowl winner Rob Gronkowski) and Randy Moss, but he’s a lot smaller than me,” the 40-year-old explained. “He runs a lot faster than me, but he’s a lot smaller than me, but like Megatron (three-time first-team All Pro wide receiver Calvin Johnson), we’re the same stature in terms of build. (Six-time first-team All Pro tight end) Tony Gonzalez, with him and his size he also played basketball, I used to love his party where he used to dunk on the goalposts.”

James’ football skills in high school led many to suggest that he could have a successful career in the NFL if he went that route.

And when asked if it would be more difficult to make the transition from the NBA to the NFL or vice versa, James said he’s given it some thought.

“I would like to say that I think it’s easier for a basketball player to try out for the NFL than the NFL player trying to make it to the NBA,” he said. “And I know we have some great athletes. … (If) an NBA guy decides to play in the NFL, yeah, it’s going to take a transition period. For me, it would have been like getting used to get hit again.

“I remember from high school going from the summer time to playing basketball, playing AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ball and then going into the fall and having to get used to getting hit again. The first few practices when you take them on the shoulder pads and helmets, the most important thing is to get hit again.

“Football goes to basketball, it’s so much more coordination and run and jump, consistent,” he added, while also saying he believed current NBA players Russell Westbrook or Anthony Edwards would have the most success making the switch to the NFL.