NBA Lockout: What If LeBron James Decided to Play in the NFL?

Talking with brother and fellow B/R contributor Brennan Thomas this evening, we devised a ridiculous but incredibly awesome idea: LeBron James should have used the NBA Lockout as an opportunity to play professional football.

As an international basketball superstar whose ability to posterize opponents rests on his good health, King James would obviously oppose such a high-risk move. 

Similarly, most NFL teams would hesitate to sign LeBron since he hasn't played football for nearly a decade and could only tentatively commit a single season to a professional football career.

Considering the NFL Supplemental Draft has already passed and the season has already begun, this issue is technically moot.  Nevertheless, the possibilities of the 6'8" 250 pound Miami Heat forward playing receiver for an NFL team seem too irresistible to ignore.

When discussing the possibility of a basketball player converting to football, we must of course start with San Diego Chargers tight end and former Kent State University power forward Antonio Gates.

After a successful senior season averaging 20.6 points per game and leading his team to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, Gates looked positioned to continue his career as a role player for some NBA team.

However, ultimately lacking the height to succeed as a professional basketball player, Gates tried his hand at football and signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Chargers in 2003, the same year LeBron debuted with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Eight seasons, 537 receptions, 7,079 receiving yards and 69 touchdowns later, Antonio Gates is well on his way to earning a permanent place in the NFL Hall of Fame.

At 6'4" 260 pounds, Gates is bigger and more physical than most defensive backs and quicker and faster than most linebackers.  With most teams lacking a hybrid defensive freak to match up against him, the Chargers legend often finds himself running wide open down the middle of the field.

Given Gates' success, King James would surely comprehensively dominate his opponents.

Weighing 250 pounds, the fellow former Akron resident would probably put on an additional 30 pounds of muscle in order to better endure the physical rigors of the NFL.  Combining a 6'8", 280 pound frame with soft hands and a roughly 40" vertical leap, LeBron would be unguardable.

Sure, the man largely considered the most athletic American ever would struggle learning to run crisp routes in only a single season, but who cares?

Even a not-so-savvy coach could line James up in the slot and have him run fly routes up the seam.  Sure, he wouldn't receive the ball on every play, but he would force the safeties to remain away from the line of scrimmage and would serve as an emergency outlet for his quarterback.

No run game?  No problem.

When reaching the red zone, LeBron could line up on the flank, run a fade pattern, and "Moss" any defenders who dared challenge him.

In the event that King James ended up with the Chicago Bears where Coach Lovie Smith refuses to feature talented offensive players, he could star as a defensive end. 

Remember that time when he caught that Chinese guy's shot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics?  He could do the same number on the likes of Colt McCoy, Rex Grossman, and perhaps (gasp) pretty boy Tom Brady.

In any event, LeBron James is such an undeniably phenomenal athlete that he surely would have succeeded wherever he landed.

Yet, barring some supernatural interference, we'll unfortunately never have the pleasure of watching LeBron star in the NFL, and he won't ever have the satisfaction of hoisting the coveted Lombardi Trophy.