Cross-sport athletes deserve far more recognition than they receive. Following in Allen Iverson and Deion Sanders’ footsteps, LeBron James proved himself to be the ultimate athlete in his teen years with jaw-dropping excellence on the hardwood and in the gridiron. He’s clearly proud of this given his recent Instagram activity.
James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary basketball games being nationally televised took quite a bit of spotlight away from just how incredible he was as a wide receiver. At 6’6-6’8 while in high school, well over 230lbs, Bron was an anomaly out on the field, making him one of the most versatile WRs in the nation.
His skills never diminished with age either. During the 2011 NBA lockout, he would heavily consider joining the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones had gone as far as to send him a contract.
“I know he got a contract from Jerry Jones that he framed and put in his office,” said Maverick Carter, LBJ’s business partner. Of course, this never came to fruition as LeBron rejected the contract and went on to win back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat a year later.
Fast-forward to present day, over two decades removed from when he last played football competitively and LeBron still reminisces over the ‘good ol’ days’. He took to his IG story to remind any detractors of his just how incredible he was as a receiver.
The post laid out his stats from his 3 years as a receiver at SVSM. 99 receptions for 27 touchdowns is no joke, all while gathering up 1,912 receiving yards in the process.
While top WRs at the high school level have surpassed these stats with ease, him doing this while being the number one ranked basketball player in the nation was what caught everyone’s eye. Not to mention the sheer potential and raw talent that was clearly seething from every fiber of his being.
Did LeBron truly believe he could transition to football?
“I had no idea how long the lockout was going to be, and myself and my trainer Mike Mancias, we really started to actually train to be a football player when it came to October, November,” said LeBron about his time during the ’11 lockout.
There was always a real possibility on multiple occasions that the 21x All-Star made the transition to the gridiron. Taking it a step further, he even believed he could do both at the same time.
While speaking to Travis and Jason Kelce on their podcast, he revealed his best friend at the time, Sian Cotton, was playing football at Ohio State. “I could have roomed with him. Played football during the fall and basketball during the winter and spring.”
With James’ time winding down in the NBA, it’s close to an impossibility that fans will ever get to see the Cavaliers legend suit up in the NFL. Though, if they’re lucky, he could bless the internet with a couple casual runs in the offseason or during his retirement.
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