Coming off a record-breaking rookie campaign in 2024, Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey has a lot of people excited to see what he does for an encore in his sophomore season. Three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman has already stated that he expects big things, but McConkey's list of supporters also apparently includes none other than LeBron James.
James recently took a break from his busy golf-watching schedule to film a video for DraftKings Pick 6, with the four-time NBA champion listing the six players he has his eye on ahead of the upcoming 2025 season.
LeBron kicked things off with Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, which Bolts fans may not like, given how the Texans destroyed the Chargers in the opening round of the playoffs back in January. But the pick makes sense. From there, the NBA's all-time leading scorer rolled with Baltimore Ravens QB and two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, Washington Commanders wide receiver Deebo Samuel, Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, and Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins.
And with his sixth and final selection, LeBron rolled with McConkey. He had a little trouble remembering his name for a second, initially calling him "the receiver that was a rookie last year from the Chargers." But he got it eventually and went on to say that he believes McConkey is going to have "a monster year."
bron knows ball pic.twitter.com/TV1gviTPzu
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 28, 2025
That's gotta be a nice little ego boost for McConkey to know that he's got a supporter in arguably the greatest player in NBA history, wouldn't you think? And don't come at me, Jordan fans, I said arguably.
Seriously, though, why wouldn't James want to keep his eye on McConkey?
Taken by the Bolts early in the second round of the 2024 draft, the Georgia alum got off to a bit of a slow start, needing three games to hit the 100-yard mark. And we're not talking about one single 100-yard game. That's just getting to 100 yards total.
From there, though, McConkey turned it on and went on to shatter Keenan Allen's franchise rookie records for receptions and receiving yards, ending the regular season with 82 receptions for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns.
And while the Bolts, as mentioned above, were badly beaten by the Texans in the Wild Card Round by a score of 32-12, McConkey certainly wasn't to blame, as he caught nine passes for 197 yards, thus setting a new NFL record for the most receiving yards in a single game by a rookie in postseason history.
As the Chargers' receiving room is much stronger from an overall standpoint than it was a year ago, it'll be interesting to see if McConkey puts up the same numbers he did in 2024. That said, though, he's already said that he feels more comfortable than he did a year ago, which should terrify opposing defenses.
So, while we'll just have to wait and see how this second season plays out, we do know that LeBron James will be watching.