What college sports could LeBron James excel at?

Without question, LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes ever, no qualifiers needed. There is a short list of players that have been as physically dominant as he and that list is mostly comprised of centers. As a perimeter player, LeBron has shown his blend of power, speed and agility.

It’s led many to wonder how he would fare in other sports. LeBron’s venture into football during the lockout sparked curious minds and though he reportedly had an offer from the Dallas Cowboys.

J.R. Smith, a former teammate of LeBron, took his own venture into a new sport in recent years when he enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University to not only earn a degree but also play for the men’s golf team.

Mix all that together and you have LeBron’s wheels turning over the weekend when he tweeted out the following:

Ohio State — which LeBron has very close ties to — athletic director Gene Smith offered some clarification and opened a door for LeBron on Sunday in his own tweet.

So, naturally, basketball is off the table for LeBron, but seemingly everything else is at play here. But what sports could LeBron successfully play at the college level? Let’s take a look at some options.

Football

The obvious first choice would be football, the sport he’s flirted with so much. In theory, LeBron would have been an incredible football player in his prime. But if we’re envisioning a scenario for his post-playing days, would a 40-some-year-old LeBron be able to play Division I football? Maybe.

It’d be hard to believe he could do it at the level of an Ohio State, a high-level program contending for national titles year in and year out. It’s hard to put anything past LeBron, though. Seeing him take the J.R. Smith route is a fascinating thought, too.

Soccer

bUt WhAt If OuR bEsT aThLeTeS pLaYeD sOcCeR?

Well, this would be a glimpse, I don’t know how much interest LeBron has in PLAYING soccer, certainly not as much as he has in being a partial owner of a team. I also don’t know how much actual soccer skill he has. He would make one hell of a center back or defensive midfielder, commanding the pitch and using that incredible vision to sling passes all over the place.

Volleyball

Athletically, putting LeBron up front as either an outside hitter or middle blocker would seem like a spot where he would find success. It would depend on how much of a step back he’s taken athletically, but could you imagine LeBron flying in from the outside and smashing one down the line?

Track

There isn’t one event that I think LeBron would dominate at, necessarily, but that could be where he’d succeed. Imagine LeBron the decathlete, taking part in the high jump, hurdles, pole vault. How would he fair in the endurance races or the shot put or javelin, events that require a different kind of physical skillset.

I don’t know that he’d do it because it isn’t quite the luxurious option, but he’d certainly have success in it.

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