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Welcome to LeBron James’ defensive renaissance

There is an alternate reality, a Bizzaro World if you will, in which LeBron James wakes up every morning and picks up a pair of cleats — not sneakers — to go to work.

Once a standout wide receiver in high school, the combination of James’ hulking frame and freakish athleticism makes it easy to conjure up visions of him bursting off the line of scrimmage, snagging spirals in the end-zone and completely barreling over any poor soul who dared get in his way. But those, of course, are simply daydreams.