LeBron James Played High School Football Because of Aaliyah: Report

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James contemplated quitting football after his sophomore year of high school. But after one of his "favorite singers" Aaliyah tragically died in 2001, James decided he was "not going to live his life being afraid," NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported on NBA Today on Wednesday.

"You know why he played football? Because of Aaliyah," Windhorst said. "So. Aaliyah's passing got him to come off the sidelines."

Aaliyah, 22, was killed in a plane crash with eight other passengers in the Bahamas in August of 2001, the start of James' junior year of high school.

James skipped the start of the football season his junior year. He missed the first game, but joined the team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, for the second game with no practice and no training camp.

"He played 12 games, had 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns and was one of the great receivers in the history of the school," said Windhorst, who attended the same high school and later covered James' career there.

Windhorst actually underplayed the stats. Per Sporting News, the Lakers star had 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns and received recruiting interest from big-name programs like Ohio State and Notre Dame.

His high school football coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary, Jay Brophy, told Bleacher Report that despite the increased attention from these programs, James had his heart set on basketball.

"I went over to him and he was in the library and I said, 'LeBron, hey, let me ask you, are you really interested in playing college football? I've got a ton of schools asking about you playing that have called me,'" Brophy said. "He said, 'Well coach, I'm 99 percent sure I'm probably going to the NBA. But I wouldn’t rule it out.'

"He started laughing and he said, 'No coach, I'm kidding. I'm gonna play basketball.' I said, 'All right, I just wanted to know.'

James' football career ended after junior year as the basketball star spent his senior year preparing for the NBA. Following graduation, James was picked No. 1 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, entering season No. 21, James has four NBA MVPs and four NBA titles on a resumé that has put him in the conversation of greatest basketball player of all time.