Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 15, 2025
Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images
Los Angeles Lakers superstar and NBA legend LeBron James provided some insight Wednesday into what his game may have been like had he decided to pursue a football career in the NFL.
During an appearance on the New Heights podcast (beginning at the 7:57 mark) with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, James was asked to compare his game to past NFL players, and expressed his belief that he would have been a “mix between” Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson.
James also mentioned legendary Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, noting that he was a basketball star in high school and college before becoming one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.
Moss and Johnson are two of the all-time great wide receivers, while Gronk is firmly in the discussion with Gonzalez as the greatest tight end to ever play in the NFL.
James, who is listed at 6’9″ and 250 pounds, is closest in size to Gronk, who played at 6’6″ 265 pounds. Johnson wasn’t too far off, though, at 6’5″ and 237 pounds.
Moss had ideal height at 6’4″, but he was much slighter than Gronk and Megatron at 210 pounds, and LeBron admitted that Moss had him beat in the speed department.
Gronkowski is third in NFL history in receiving touchdowns among tight ends, Moss is fourth among all players in receiving yardage and second in touchdown catches, and Johnson isn’t near the top of any leaderboards due to his brief career, but he still managed 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in just nine seasons.
Because of his size, strength, speed and athleticism, it has long been speculated by fans how well James would have fared had he ever stepped on an NFL gridiron.
The 40-year-old James, who is a longtime and avid fan of Ohio State football, told the Kelce brothers that playing in the NFL is something he has often dreamt of over the years, but only seriously considered doing once.
LeBron pointed to 2011 as the only time he was “serious” about potentially dipping his toe into the NFL waters since it was amid the NBA lockout, which lasted 161 days from July 2011 to December 2011.
Because of the length of the lockout, NBA teams’ schedules were reduced from 82 games to 66 that season, but it all worked in James’ favor, as he won the first NBA championship of his illustrious career, leading the Miami Heat past the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
LeBron in the NFL will perhaps go down as one of the biggest “what-ifs” in professional sports history, but given that he established himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all time with four titles, four NBA MVP awards and four NBA Finals MVP awards, plus the all-time scoring record, there is seemingly a good chance would have excelled as a football player as well.
