Lakers’ LeBron James: ‘F–k No’ Never Wanted to Join Duke; Eyed UNC, Cincy Before NBA

Doric SamApril 10, 2024

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Before jumping from high school straight to the NBA, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James once dreamed of playing in college for a pair of teams that might be surprising to some.

During this week’s episode of the Mind the Game podcast, James revealed to J.J. Reddick that he was enthralled with Cincinnati as a youngster and had a desire to play for former Bearcats head coach Bob Huggins. He then shifted his allegiance to North Carolina.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to go to Cincinnati because of the uniforms and because of Huggs,” James said around the 14:30 mark. “And then I got a little older and I wanted to go to North Carolina because of the uniforms and because of Ed Cota and his ability to pass the ball, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s insane.'”

When asked if he ever wanted to go to Duke, James replied, “F–k no, man. F–k no, I never wanted to go to Duke. I already told you this.”

The 39-year-old’s answer was somewhat surprising, especially considering that he thrived while being coached by the legendary Mike Krzyzewski when he was the Team USA head coach. James added a caveat to his answer, later adding, “Now, yes. Now that I know Coach K is my f–king guy, absolutely.”

It’s fair to assume that James would’ve had an amazing college career even if he was a one-and-done player. He went on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history, so he clearly has no regrets about skipping college.