12 Athletes You Would've Hated Playing Against in Middle School

Imagine trying to guard LeBron James in middle school.

He was one of those kids you would've never wanted to play against. You know the ones. Those kids were big, strong, fast and, man, they were just good at everything.

Had you known the following 12 athletes back in your school days, let's just say you definitely would've picked them first on the playground. And you would've run in the other direction if asked to guard them. 

Greg Oden

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It's no secret Greg Oden's professional basketball career hasn't panned out, but he was still a beast growing up.

As a 7-foot high school standout in 2005, Oden told USA Today about his first dunk. He reminisced, "I was in seventh grade and just shooting around at Sarah Scott Middle School. It drew rim, but I put it down."

Great. Just what you want to go up against on the playground.

Freddy Adu

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What were you doing at age 14? Probably just getting your braces off and gearing up for your first day as a freshman in high school.

Freddy Adu was getting drafted to play professional soccer.

According to Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated, Adu played pickup games with men three times his age when he was just six years old. And when he was 13, a 16-year-old teammate told Wahl, "He's awesome. You don't see a 13-year-old doing step-overs and Maradonas and stuff, and he does them."

Calvin Johnson

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is one of the most dominant and imposing players in the NFL today.

He actually grew up as a pretty versatile athlete, too. In fact, Johnson wanted to play baseball. He told Jon Saraceno of USA Today, "My mom wouldn't let me play football until middle school (because) she thought I would get hurt. Ken Griffey Jr. was my guy."

Don't be fooled, though. Just because Megatron didn't start playing football until middle school, he was still a dominating force, even then. According to Ray Glier of USA Today, Johnson was already six feet tall when most kids still had those braces on.

Steph Curry

Check out this video of the reigning NBA MVP from his middle school days. Steph Curry could break ankles even then.

His former middle school coach, James Lackey, told Alex Ballingall of the Toronto Star, "He was this tiny little guy, but when we put him on the court he was just unbelievable. He was scoring 40 points, 50 points a game, no problem."

Sounds like Curry was sneaky good in middle school—the worst (best) kind of good.

Chol Marial

Sure, most of the athletes on this list are far past middle school, but Chol Marial has to be included. In June, David Auguste of ESPN reported the eighth-grade basketball phenom has been listed anywhere from 7'1" to 7'3".

"Dibs on not guarding Chol," said every other kid at the pickup game.

Usain Bolt

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Fast kids were always good at everything in school—foot races, soccer games, you name it. You never wanted to guard the fast kids in anything because, obviously, they would torch you. 

According to Adrian Frater of the Jamaica Gleaner, Usain Bolt was the fastest kid at the Waldensia All-Age School in Jamaica by age 12. Let's see your shocked face. 

Marshawn Lynch

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NFL running backs are like the quintessential all-around terrifying middle-school athletes—fast, strong and powerful.

Seattle Seahawks back Marshawn Lynch runs the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds and didn't get the nickname "Beast Mode" for nothing. According to Men's Fitness, he benches 355 pounds and squats 485.

Lynch has played football since Pop Warner age, and his mother, Delisa Lynch, once held a 200-meter track record in high school. 

Yep—would not have wanted to mess with him then and would not want to mess with him now. 

Elena Delle Donne

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As a kid, WNBA All-Star Elena Delle Donne had no trouble keeping up with her older brother on a basketball court. 

Her father, Ernie Delle Donne, told Graham Hayes of ESPN, "[She was] incredibly agile for as tall as she was at five, six, seven years of age. You know how the tallest kid in the class is typically kind of gawky? She had agility that rivaled the shortest person in the room, whether it was kindergarten, preschool, first grade."

J.J. Watt

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has always been big, and he has long been a great all-around athlete.

He's literally been big since birth. His mom, Connie Watt, told Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN the Magazine, "My husband would go to the nursery to get him, and he didn't have to show any ID. John is 6'4", and J.J. took up the entire incubator."

Watt not only played youth football but hockey as well for a time. You would've wanted him on your team for everything, but playing against him? Nope.

Now, he boasts explosive quickness and incredible strength on the football field, but he surely would've dominated the schoolyard game of Red Rover, too.    

Connor McDavid

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Connor McDavid was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL draft, and he's already been called the "Next Great One."

According to Leo Roth of the Democrat & Chronicle, McDavid skated circles around nine-year-olds when he was only six and graduated to his dads men's league when he was 12.

Let's just say if McDavid had been around for your winter pond hockey games as kid, you would've wanted him on your team.  

Mike Trout

Mike Trout grew up idolizing Derek Jeter, and now he is a five-tool All-Star in the major leagues.

Trout was probably like that kid at your school who was just good at everything. You know, that kid who always got picked first—kickball, soccer, whatever. 

Bob Barth coached Trout from ages 14-17 in the Tri-State Arsenal baseball program and once told Baseball Youth, "It didn't matter if he was 14 and playing in a 17U tournament, we'd put him out there, and he made the team better."

LeBron James

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Everyone knows LeBron James' incredible athleticism and talent were apparent at a young age. According to Eli Saslow of ESPN the Magazine, James was an instant standout on a youth football team called the East Dragons before he was even 10 years old. Apparently his first run resulted in an 80-yard touchdown.

Then of course, he was decent on a basketball court, too.