LeBron James, an All-State receiver in his home state of Ohio, has often pondered what might have been if he had stuck with football rather than pursue a career in the NBA. The Lakers great claims he was pursued by a number of teams during the lockout in 2011 including his beloved Dallas Cowboys, and believes he would have made the team.
There are some athletes—and LeBron is undoubtedly one of them—so prolific in scope they could have realistically gone pro in practically any sport of their choosing. All-Star big man Zion Williamson, an earth-shaking, high-flying monstrosity the NBA can’t even begin to solve, is precisely that type of talent. Surprisingly nimble for his cartoonish 6’7,” 284-pound figure, the Pelicans prodigy obviously prefers the hardwood, but it’s not hard to envision him dominating the NFL, wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks or doing his best Rob Gronkowski impression at tight end. When asked by Hall-of-Famer Shannon Sharpe if he could have reached football’s highest level, the second-year forward didn’t have to think too hard about it.
“Yeah, I believe I could [have]. I’m just a competitor,” said Williamson on Tuesday’s episode of the Club Shay Shay podcast. “I think I would be a tight end or receiver, one of those two.”
Williamson dabbled in football growing up in Spartanburg, South Carolina, only an hour drive from Clemson University, a perennial ACC powerhouse and winner of two of the last five FBS championships. But once he got to middle school, Zion decided to put football aside and focus on his hoops career. “I played football and soccer because it was fun and my friends played it, but basketball, I played that year-round,” said Williamson, who has been making the media rounds this week to promote the debut of his first signature sneaker, released by Jordan Brand. “I just had a love for it. So when I got to seventh grade, all my attention was going to basketball."
While it’s fun to imagine Williamson blocking pass-rushers into oblivion or catching highlight-reel touchdowns on the gridiron, it appears the 20-year-old’s NFL ship has sailed.
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