Watch: 16-year-old LeBron James goes full Megatron as wide receiver in high school football game
LeBron James has always been a superhuman athlete. Since he was a high school standout, James has been leaving fans speechless with his incredible athleticism.
As NBA fans may recall, that athleticism extends far beyond the court. During the 2011 NBA lockout, LeBron James was frequently seen playing flag football. In addition, he actually had two offers to try out for NFL teams during the lockout as well.
What fans may not know is that James was a standout gridiron football player in high school, amassing quite the highlight tape of catches, runs, and touchdowns. Footage of LeBron James playing wide receiver from his high school days recently went viral again. With that, check out some of the footage below:
Taking a closer look at LeBron James' love of American football, and how his high school career went on the field
As LeBron James' former high school gridiron football coach explained, it was no secret that James was a force to be reckoned with on the field, and the court. It wasn't until he was a junior in high school that it became apparent that basketball would be his ticket to success.
Despite that, James had already made an impression on his American football teammates, specifically his quarterback, Chris Wooley.
Back in 2017, Wooley spoke about their time on the field together in high school, recalling how James could make catches if the ball was within 10–15 yards.
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Thanks to his unique combination of athleticism and size, James was able to dominate the competition. According to Matt McDonald, who spoke to BelacherReport in 2017, nobody could hang with LeBron James on the field.
“The biggest thing about him playing football was the worry that he would get hurt, but you would see him out there and it’s like, he’s not the guy that’s going to get hurt. It’s the guys he’s going against. It’s at a point where he was so much better than everyone else that not even the big guys could hurt him.”
According to McDonald, the team's backup plan was to simply "just throw it up to LeBron," given that even when he wasn't open - he would find a way to get open.
While NBA fans may never have gotten to see James compete on an NFL field, it's clear that whatever sport James wanted to excel at, he would have.
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