Usually, professional athletes try out their hands at a few sports in their youth before making their choice. However, very few have the ability to be successful across multiple sports.
There are exceptions, of course, with Deion Sanders immediately springing to mind. However, a jump from the NBA to the NFL feels almost impossible, given the gap in physicality between the two sports.
With that gap getting wider, a rare return to physicality when the referees let hoopers hoop is a welcome sight. But that physicality can be daunting for some, as the Los Angeles Lakers found out firsthand in their 117-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. But for LeBron James, the physicality was no issue, as he cited his football background.
LeBron James: King of the Gridiron?
At 6’9″ and 250 pounds, James is one of the most impressive physical specimens to ever come into the world of sports. Given his frame, he has often been compared to a freight train as he barrels his way to the rim.
Suffice it to say, he welcomes the challenge.
However, with the Pistons going back to a physical-style defense against the Lakers, harkening back to a certain Bad Boy flavor, questions about the team’s ability to handle physicality came into question. But for LBJ, it’s no concern.
Speaking to Dave McMenamin in the locker room post-game, James explained his stance clearly.
“You just got to match physicality with physicality. Can’t speak for nobody but myself when it comes to that. I’m a football player, so I don’t mind the physicality, to be honest.”
LeBron James on whether opposing teams’ physicality- like Detroit – is getting the best of the Lakers: “I’m a football player so I don’t mind physicality, to be honest” pic.twitter.com/5jwit85CMj
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 24, 2024
His comments, of course, are a callback to his past growing up in Akron, Ohio, and to a lesser extent, the infamous 2011 lockout season. Growing up, James had three years of experience playing football in his high school days. While he was a quarterback for one of them, he truly shined in his two years playing wide receiver.
Totaling 1,912 yards and 27 touchdowns, James made back-to-back All-Ohio selections before being recruited by top college programs like Ohio State, Alabama, and Miami.
The defensive coordinator at St. Vincent-St. Mary, at the time, was Green Bay Packers veteran Mark Murphy. According to him, King James was good enough to have gone on to the NFL and thrived.
In an interview with ESPN, Murphy reiterated his views, stating, “I’ve been around a lot of great receivers. I tell people that I rate my top receivers — coaching, playing, or watching — as James Lofton, Jerry Rice, Steve Largent, and LeBron James. People laugh at me, but it’s true. The kid had everything you could want. I felt like that was one kid that could have gone from high school to the NFL and played.”
James’ size and stature would have been physically indefensible, with even the largest NFL corners not rarely clearing 6’4″. Given his physical attributes, legends like Randy Moss and Dez Bryant also believed that James could have been a sensation on the gridiron.
And in 2011, the dream almost became a reality. With the NBA season shortened due to a lockout, the Dallas Cowboys, James’ favorite team alongside the Cleveland Browns, looked to make use of the opportunity, offering the now four-time NBA MVP a contract as a wide receiver.
It almost became a reality with James seriously considering the move and even changing his workout routine in preparation.
Speaking on UNINTERRUPTED, James revealed, “[I] really started to actually train to be a football player. We started to clock our time in the 40, we started to add a little bit more to our bench presses and things of that nature. We started to add the sled to our agenda with the workouts.”
Alas, it didn’t come to be, but those backgrounds have been a huge boost for the ever-dominant James. It has led him to four NBA championships and MVPs, and his style of play continues to be an easy source of buckets for him.
James now stands at over 41,000 points, nearly 3,000 clear of second-place Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.