Sports fans always wonder whether stars in one league can thrive in another. Many athletes have backgrounds in several sports, but thriving in more than one at a professional level is easier said than done. Los Angeles Rams receiver Davante Adams believes that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is one of the few who could dominate in both the NBA and the NFL.
"He would've been one of the best receivers, tight ends of all time," Adams told Dan Patrick on The Dan Patrick Show, when asked what kind of football player LeBron would be. "No question. I don't know if you've ever seen him play football ... he can fly, too, that's the thing. He's one of the fastest NBA players, probably of all time. I've never seen someone cover space on a basketball court. Maybe John Wall or Derrick Rose, something like that. But he's up there with all of 'em."
Davante Adams says there’s “no question” LeBron James would’ve been one of the greatest WRs or TEs in NFL history if he had chosen to play football.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 9, 2025
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Bold statement? Absolutely. Accurate statement? Honestly, as crazy as it sounds, it probably is.
LeBron James is one of few athletes who could dominate in multiple sports
We've seen professional athletes try their hand at multiple sports on numerous occasions. Michael Jordan and Deion Sanders went from being among the best players ever in their sports to struggling to perform at an MLB level. We've seen guys like Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray choose the NFL over MLB and thrive. Sports fans always wonder how the best in one sport would fare in another, but never really get to see that take place.
We won't ever see LeBron play in the NFL, but in his prime, there's no reason to believe he wouldn't dominate. Not only is he 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, but as Adams alluded to, LeBron is a freakish athlete. Watching LeBron on the outside as a wideout would certainly be interesting given his build, but again, he's a freakish athlete. He can cover an immense amount of ground even at age 40, as we've seen from his patented chase-down blocks, and he's big enough to absorb NFL-style hits.
We don't know much about LeBron's catching ability, but his physical traits are off the charts. If he could catch the ball at an average level, even, that, combined with his physical ability and his clear knowledge of the sport could help him dominate.
LeBron, as the NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time champion, obviously made the right career choice. Still, while we'll never see him in the NFL, it's fun to ponder just how well he'd perform in that league. He certainly has a better shot of dominating in two professional sports leagues more than just about anyone we've ever seen in any sport.