"I grew up big-time PRIME TIME Deion Sanders fan": LeBron James gets 100% real on his love for football

On Wednesday, LA Lakers superstar LeBron James went deep to explain his love for American football, especially the NFL. The four-time NBA champion was even close to transitioning from the association to the NFL during the lockout season, but that never came to fruition.

During his interview on the Pat McAfee show, James explained his love for this game while naming some players he grew up idolizing.

"You guys know my love for the sport of football ... Football is my first sport," he said. "Man, my first love. You know, I grew up a big-time prime time Deion Sanders fan, big time Eric Metcalf fan, too. ust grew up, just always loving the sport. Man, like, you know, seeing, you know, you know, Jerry Rice and you know, and you know, seeing some of the old clips of like, Walter Payton sweetness, and, you know, seeing Barry Sanders... I remember my mom buy me a pair of Barry Sanders sneakers, you know?

I was like, 'Oh man,' I felt so quick. I don't know if they was one of the first teams. Obviously, I don't know that for a fact. But like, seeing Barry Sanders on turf, you know, wearing sneakers. You know, that was super cool as a kid. So, yeah, it's a great sport. I mean, I love it. I love football, and I love and I love the new guys now," James said.

James used to play football in high school until he focused only on basketball. The former No. 1 overall pick claimed he was a dominant force on the field, but fans couldn't see him do it professionally.

Marshawn Lynch believes LeBron James would have dominated in the NFL

In an August 2024 conversation, former NFL stars Michael Robinson and Marshawn Lynch discussed how LeBron James would have fared if he had become a football player instead of a basketball star. After Robinson doubted that James would have been a good wide receiver, he compared James to Jimmy Graham, one of the best pass-catching tight ends of all time.

"Well, then he would have been a great tight end. Just wouldn't have been blocking for sh*t," Lynch said at the time.

It is unlikely that James will take his talents to the NFL now, but fans, analysts and players seem to have fun speculating about how he would have fared in the league.