Michael Jordan is not the one NBA legend with multi-sport prowess. Whereas Jordan’s transient stint in minor league baseball is well-known, fewer individuals recall that LeBron James had a professional shot at turning into an NFL broad receiver.
James has lengthy been acknowledged as a uncommon athletic expertise, not simply throughout the NBA however throughout sports activities generally. Like Jordan, Allen Iverson, and Danny Ainge earlier than him, James demonstrated distinctive capacity in a number of sports activities, significantly throughout his highschool years.
Throughout his time at St. Vincent-St. Mary Excessive College, James excelled on each the basketball court docket and soccer area, enjoying broad receiver with exceptional palms and an uncanny capacity to seek out the top zone.
In three years of highschool, James caught 99 passes for 1,912 yards and 27 touchdowns. The numbers do not appear so spectacular till you bear in mind he did it whereas being thought-about a five-star prospect and the nation’s prime basketball participant.
The 2011 NBA lockout-James’ NFL second?
The 2011 NBA lockout posed important challenges for gamers. With workforce house owners and the Gamers Affiliation locked in authorized disputes, athletes struggled to remain in game-ready form, unsure of after they’d return to motion.
Throughout this era, James critically thought-about making the leap to soccer. Jerry Jones noticed the potential and despatched him a contract to affix de Dallas Cowboys. “I do know he obtained a contract from Jerry Jones that he framed and put in his workplace,” James’ enterprise accomplice, Maverick Carter, revealed on the time.
James himself confirmed the story years afterward the Uninterrupted podcast:
“I had no concept how lengthy the lockout was going to be, and myself and my coach, Mike Mancias, actually began coaching to be a soccer participant come October, November,” LeBron recalled.
LeBron the dual-sport risk
Nearly 15 years later, James took to social media to remind followers of his transient however promising soccer profession. In a current Instagram story, he shared a newspaper clipping highlighting his highschool stats, reminiscing about his two-time All-Ohio choice as a large receiver.
At one level, the Los Angeles Lakers star even thought-about enjoying soccer and basketball concurrently. In a dialog with Jason and Travis Kelce, he recalled that his finest buddy, Sian Cotton, performed soccer at Ohio State.
“I might have roomed with him, performed soccer within the fall, and basketball within the winter and spring,” he stated.
Whereas the percentages of sustaining a profession in each bodily demanding sports activities had been slim, followers nonetheless speculate about what might have occurred had James taken the gridiron route as a substitute.
We’ll by no means know for positive-but the thought stays intriguing.
