Watch: LeBron James almost trucks Bill Belichick

We were this close to an epic Clash of Titans.

During the Cavs' loss to the Celtics on Wednesday, LeBron James came pretty close to laying Bill Belichick out. 

It happened after LeBron did a weird put-back dunk attempt/pirouette thing. He lost his balance and stumbled directly toward the five-time Super Bowl-winning coach. 

Luckily for Belichick, a cameraman was in the way to serve as a human shield. After it was clear that he wouldn't get destroyed, Belichick appears to crack a smile and looked characteristically uncomfortable doing so. 

"That's why I slowed up," James told reporters after the game. "I definitely slowed up because I knew it was him. I'm not taking no legend out. I'm not doing that. I need to keep seeing him win. That's pretty cool for me."

James also caught up with the legend after the game. 

The conventional wisdom is that LeBron's best football position would be tight end, but after this, I'm going with edge rusher. 

– Daniel Rapaport