Many players in the big leagues got their start in professional sports using their college athletic career as a stepping stone. The same applies to basketball.
Just look at the likes of Jeremy Lin, Gordon Hayward, and Jaylen Brown. And let’s not forget “His Airness,” Michael Jordan, who donned a UNC Jersey from 1981 to 1984.
Sure, Jordan was right in 1991 when he told kids to stay in school. Lately, there’ve been players who are so talented that they didn’t need school (or a pair of Jordans) to dunk over the competition.
One such talent is LeBron James, who disclosed in an interview the colleges he’d have gone to if he had he went. Which is it?
Read on to find out!
Where King James Would’ve Hit the Books
Diana Taurasi asked LeBron James where he would’ve gone to college in an ESPN interview on The Bird and Taurasi Show.
In asking, Diana also removed Ohio State from the list of options.
Hesitant to respond, LeBron mentioned two universities — Duke and the University of North Carolina.
In the interview, LeBron also mentions receiving calls from both universities when he was in high school. But come his junior year, LeBron stopped receiving calls, saying that both universities thought he’d “never (have to) touch the face of a university campus.”
They were right. In LeBron’s NBA debut alone, he bagged the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Also, he did this as a prep-to-pro player and was the first Cavalier to win the award.
Would LeBron James need a college career to propel him to the NBA? Look at his debut and his present NBA career, and you be the judge.
Stephen A’s Take
With two universities in LeBron’s mind and history, there’s much speculation about where he would’ve fit in. Stephen A gives us his take.
According to him, LeBron would’ve looked better in the light blue jersey. Stephen A points out how LeBron may have quickly jelled with UNC’s campus and athletics culture.
A stint, albeit one-and-done at UNC, would have juxtaposed LeBron with another great — Michael Jordan.
While not a bad university to imagine King James in, Duke would have been a better fit for the late great Kobe Bryant, according to the ESPN commentator.
Whichever one LeBron James would have attended, one thing is sure — he would’ve amazed and stunned on the court as he does today.
