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

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — LeBron James has achieved almost everything you can in the NBA. But for a brief moment, it could’ve been a very different story.

James is a well-known, passionate NFL fan – he has been seen throughout the years at games involving his hometown Cleveland Browns – but during the 2011 NBA lockout, he “absolutely” considered switching the hardwood for the gridiron.

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

“I was still young enough to get out there with y’all. That’s the only time I’ve seriously considered it. I’ve had serious dreams about this sh*t all the time. And in my dream, the ball is never kicked off. It’s me in the warmups, it’s me coming out, running my routes and right when the game starts, I f**king wake up or some sh*t. That lets me know I’m not supposed to be out there.”

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

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

James was even the subject of offers from some of college football’s biggest names, recalling that then-Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel’s attempted 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, 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-foot-whatever, obviously real 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.

Eventually, James chose a career involving hoops rather than goallines but the thought has apparently always lingered in his head.

When asked who he imagined he could have compared to if he had chosen the NFL, James highlighted 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 have that same like stature as far as like build. (Six-time first-team All Pro tight end) Tony Gonzalez, with him and his size, he played basketball as well, I used to love his celebration where he used to dunk on the goalposts.”

James’ footballing skill in high school led to many suggesting he could have a successful career in the NFL if he’d gone that route.

And when he was asked whether it would be harder to transition from the NBA to the NFL or vice versa, James said he’d put some thought into it.

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

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

“Football going to basketball, it’s such more coordination and running and jumping, consistent,” he added, while also saying he believed current NBA players Russell Westbrook or Anthony Edwards would have the most success swapping to the NFL.

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