"I could do the long jump, maybe, or the high jump" - LeBron James thinks he could win a gold medal in another sport despite being almost 40

LeBron James may be approaching his 40th birthday, but that won't stop him from picturing an unprecedented athletic feat. The NBA's all-time leading scorer is just weeks removed from his third gold medal, coming in a fortnight that saw him snatch the Olympic MVP.

While he was busy throwing frozen-rope passes on one end and chasing down shots on the other, he had to sit back between games to think about competing in the other events in Paris.

The gold standard in multiple sports?

Few athletes have done as much as James had, much less eclipsing his legendary resume. But even for the four-time NBA MVP, more is left to be desired.

In a recent episode of "The Shop," LeBron was asked if his 39-year-old legs could help him achieve a gold medal in another sport. In vintage LBJ fashion, he isn't doubting a thing about himself.

"Compete in, like, how much time are you going to give me?" he replied. "Maybe the long jump. I think I could do the long jump, maybe, or the high jump if you give me some time. I need about six months, eight months, or whatever preparation to get to that."

Even for James, whose preparation is as studious as any athlete ever, any amount of time spent trying to gear up to compete in the long or high jump likely wouldn't be enough, given his age. However, that's not to say he can't finish in the top 10 or make it interesting. After all, his athletic capacity remains through the roof.

Maybe once upon a time

Bron can have a go at the track and field competitions if he wants — but he'll be 43 years old when that opportunity rolls around again. At 39, with nearly 70,000 regular and postseason minutes on his legs, outclassing world-class jumpers — some nearly two decades younger than him — is much closer to being a fantasy than a reality.

However, rewinding the clock to when he was at the top of the physical game may be a different story. Even LeBron recently expressed awe at how athletic he was when he was younger. For a player who is still exploding, tomahawking, and getting his head near the rim, that's saying something. It reveals the freakish physical gifts he possessed, like a popular clip of him parachuting over Chicago Bulls guard John Lucas back in 2012.

The soon-to-be 40-year-old has already defied the odds countless times; seeing him compete for his fourth gold medal four years from now can't be entirely dismissed, even if he doubts he'll play.

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