LeBron James ‘seriously considered’ switching to the NFL in 2011, and more things he told Kelce Bros.

It’s not often you hear Travis Kelce admit he was nervous. But the 10-time Pro Bowl tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion admitted to feeling butterflies at the start of his podcast on Wednesday.

“I’m nervous but very excited,” Travis told his brother Jason on the latest edition of the show.New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce“.

That’s because their special guest was someone who had “been coming for a long time”: the one and only LeBron James.

Thanks to a successful football career and a successful podcast, the Kelce brothers are some of the most famous — retired, in Jason’s case — athletes in the world right now. But the Cleveland natives can’t even claim to be the most famous athletes from Northeast Ohio. That distinction belongs, of course, to Akron’s own “King James.”

In between Cleveland-area basketball reminisces, the three Ohioans virtually discussed LeBron’s NFL career, debated the NBA vs. NFL, and talked about LeBron’s biggest accomplishments. LeBron reveals when he thought about playing in the NFL

LeBron James playing in the NFL has always been a fun topic for sports fans alike, but is it even close to being a reality? Well, James once revealed that he honestly thought about setting foot on the iron net.

“The only time I took it seriously was in 2011 when we had the NBA lockout,” James said. “And I didn’t know when we would conclude the agreement with the owners and restart the league, so I thought about it a little at the time.

“I was still young enough to go out with all of you, but this was the only time I seriously thought about it.”

The 2011-12 NBA season did not start until Christmas Day due to the lockout in what became a 66-game regular season that ironically ended with James winning his first NBA championship with the Miami Heat. James, who was 26 at the start of the season, To be unveiled in 2021 That the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks offered him an NFL contract.

LeBron weighs whether NFL vs. NBA is ‘easier’

As one of the rare super athletes who could have played professional football and basketball, LeBron was the perfect person to bring up a controversial topic.

“What is easier to do: a player from the NFL going to the NBA, or a player from the NBA going to the NFL?” Jason asked LeBron.

After a deep breath, LeBron prepared to settle the argument once and for all(?).

“I want to say, I think it’s easier for a basketball player to try out for the NFL than it is for an NFL player to try out for the NBA.”

LeBron gave a shout out to Bills receiver Keon Coleman and Ravens receiver Zay Flowers — whose basketball highlights went viral — before backing his stance.

“Yes, it will take a transition period [going from the NBA to NFL]” he said, specifically referring to having to get used to getting hit again. “Once you get into a groove, it’s like riding a bike.

“Football is like basketball, it requires more coordination, running and jumping, and it’s consistent,” he explained, as basketball players don’t get as many timeouts between plays.

LeBron also revealed that he believes Russell Westbrook or Anthony Edwards would be the other NBA players who could make the “cleanest transition” to the NFL.

“Ross will be an unbelievable strong safety or free safety,” he said. “He’s trying to hit somebody. The NFL took over the NBA on Christmas,” LeBron admits

The NBA has been playing Christmas Day games since 1947. The NFL recently turned it into an annual tradition, holding at least one game on December 25 in each of the past five seasons.

This year, even though Christmas falls on a Wednesday, the NFL scheduled two games and neither of them ended up being close. Travis Kelsey The Chiefs dominated the Steelers in a 29-10 winwhile The Ravens defeated the Texans 31-2.

However, fans followed her, Setting Netflix viewing logs for Christmas Day. It also helped, of course, that global superstar Beyoncé was headlining the halftime show in Houston.

Meanwhile, the NBA’s four-game Christmas slate was more competitive, highlighted by LeBron’s Lakers beating Steph Curry’s Warriors in an easy finish. And after winning, LeBron told ESPN“I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day.”

A few weeks later, LeBron took a slightly different tone when Jason asked him, “Who owns Christmas?”

“From a viewing standpoint, you kicked our ass,” LeBron admitted. “The Games weren’t as great as they should have been, but you had Beyoncé.”

However, LeBron said, “I had to stand up for the NBA.” To be fair, The NBA had its best Christmas viewership in five years.

LeBron rushes to play with Bronny

One of the most talked about stories of the NBA offseason and early part of the regular season is James playing alongside his eldest son, Bronny James. The Lakers selected Bronny with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and the father-son duo made history when they shared the court in the season opener.

James gave his perspective on being teammates with his son.

“When it comes to titles, that’s a separate thing,” the elder James said. “But to be able to be in this league and play in this league and also to be able to do it alongside Bronny at the moment, that is one of the biggest achievements – probably the No. 1 achievement I have ever been able to achieve.”

He went on to expand on what makes it so special.

“Seeing him every day grinding, going through the process of trying to become what he wants to become while I’m sitting there just watching him and doing the things he wants to do and being able to take it all in, it helps me.” “I got some minutes and hours and years that I didn’t get to spend with him because I was playing so much,” James said.

After Travis praised Bronny for handling all the scrutiny that comes with following in his legendary father’s footsteps, LeBron acted like a proud father.

“Bronny doesn’t have to play basketball at all. He doesn’t seem like he needs the money. He can do what he wants to do,” LeBron told Kelsey. He added: “He says: This is my career, these are my goals, these are my aspirations, and I want to play football. This is something I love.”

“I love this baby. He’s adorable.”

Bronny James has been up and down with the Lakers and their NBA affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, this season. He appeared in nine games in the NBA but was unable to get consistent playing time.

The 40-year-old James, a four-time NBA champion, four-time MVP and 20-time NBA All-Star, is averaging 23.7 points, 8.8 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game while He shoots 50.9/39.1/76.2 for Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Lakers are ranked seventh in the Western Conference this season at 20-17.

Meanwhile, Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs are the top seed in the AFC playoffs and host the Houston Texans in the divisional round on Saturday.

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