Could NBA Superstar LeBron James Play Football At Ohio State?

James was a first-team all-state wide receiver at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, where he caught 103 passes for 2,065 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Sep 25, 2022 4:56 PM EDT

In this story:

Ohio State Buckeyes

Los Angeles Lakers

Upon hearing the news that Ohio State would be without junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Saturday’s 52-21 win over Wisconsin, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James asked Twitter if he still had college eligibility if he wanted to play another sport.

James – who was a first-team all-state wide receiver at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, where he caught 103 passes for 2,065 yards and 23 touchdowns – never seriously considered playing football in college and instead went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

However, he’s has said on numerous occasions he would have played basketball for the Buckeyes had he gone to college rather than straight to the league.

As for his question, James doesn’t have to look any further than his former teammate, J.R. Smith, who spent 16 seasons in the NBA before playing college golf at North Carolina A&T.

Because Smith – who also went straight to the NBA out of high school – never enrolled full-time in college and didn’t play golf professionally, he was considered an amateur golfer and still had college eligibility remaining.

The same would go for the 37-year-old James, as pointed out by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who offered to help James explore the possibility of playing for the Buckeyes, if he was truly interested.

Of course, James – who gifted Beats headphones to the team last week – recently agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers that makes him the highest-paid player in NBA history and ties him to the franchise though the 2024-25 season.

But with his son, Bronny James, showing interest in playing basketball at Ohio State as one of the top recruits in the country for the class of 2023, it’s certainly fun to imagine them both on campus and playing two different sports at the same time.

-----

Be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Ohio State Remains At No. 3 In AP, Coaches Poll Following Win Over Wisconsin

Photos From Ohio State's 52-21 Win Over Wisconsin

Ohio State CBs Jyaire Brown, Jakailin Johnson Step Up Against Wisconsin

Ohio State Hopeful Jaxon Smith-Njigba Will Play Against Rutgers

Ohio State Rolls Past Wisconsin 52-21 In Big Ten Conference Opener

Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cameron Brown Unavailable Against Wisconsin

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!