LeBron James Trained to be a Football Player During the 2011 Lockout

James: "We started to clock our times with the 40's. We started to add a little bit more in our bench presses and things of that nature."

The LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate has raged for weeks amid 'The Last Dance,' and James apparently almost followed in Jordan's footsteps as a dual-sport athlete.

James said on Monday he trained to be a football player in the 2011 NBA lockout, working on his 40-yard dash and bench press. 

"Myself and my trainer...we really started to actually train to be a football player when it came to like October and November," James said on Uninterrupted. "We started to clock our times with the 40's. We started to add a little bit more in our bench presses and things of that nature."

James' talent on the gridiron is well documented. He was a wide receiver in high school at St. Vincent-St. Mary, and he actually squared off against Kevin Durant in a flag football event during the 2011 lockout. Perhaps James will take a turn to the football field after 2019-20, though it may interrupt his chase for a championship in Los Angeles.