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JR Smith showed all professional athletes that it’s never too late to go back to school when he enrolled at North Carolina A&T and walked onto its golf team last fall.
Now, he’s trying to see if LeBron James would be interested in doing something similar.
After Smith was named North Carolina A&T’s Academic Athlete of the Year for earning a 4.0 GPA during the 2021–22 season, his former Cavaliers and Lakers teammate took to Twitter to congratulate him. In response, the NBA shooting guard-turned-collegiate golfer suggested that James should let him know if he’s ever considering going back to school.
“Let me know if you still want to play College Football we still got time!!!!” Smith wrote on Twitter.
James, who went straight to the NBA out of a high school, was also a sensation on the gridiron at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio. He even entertained a move to the NFL during the NBA lockout in 2011, revealing in a 2021 interview with The Athletic that he received tryout invitations from the Seahawks and the Cowboys.
Confident in his physical abilities and his relentless work ethic, James was certain he would’ve earned a spot in professional football had he pursued the opportunities.
“I would have made the team,” James told The Athletic. “One thing about it, I don’t mind working for something, so if I would have had to try out for the Cowboys or the Seahawks, or if I’d have stayed home and went back home to Cleveland, I’d have tried [out], but I would have made the team. I just know what I’m capable of doing on the football field. Especially at that age.”
Now 37, James’s hopes of a football career are likely in the rearview mirror. However, Smith has created a precedent for former professional athletes to return to college for their diploma, but also continue playing competitive sports on the side.
