“A dream I’ve had since I was a kid”: Travis Kelce shocks fans by admitting he’d rather play in the NBA than the NFL

Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has surprised fans with an unexpected career revelation, showing he's looking beyond the football field. Known for his fierce competitiveness and Super Bowl wins, Kelce recently opened up on his podcast New Heights about his longtime dream of playing in the NBA. While he's not switching sports anytime soon, the statement gave fans a glimpse into his personal aspirations and multifaceted ambitions.

In the episode, a listener asked Travis Kelce which podcast guest he’d choose to switch lives with for 48 hours. Without hesitation, he picked LeBron James and began expressing his deep admiration for the NBA, speaking passionately about his lifelong love for the sport.
“My answer is LeBron James, because I want to play in the NBA,” Kelce said. “I’ve always wanted to play in the NBA. It was a dream I’ve had since I was a kid, and I would love to know what that dream actually feels like,” he explained.
Reflecting on the early days of his NFL career, Travis Kelce opened up about the challenges he faced as a rookie. He shared how injuries and recovery often took priority over actual gameplay development, shaping the start of his journey in the league.

“When you’re a rookie, you could just get up and go,” Kelce said. “And on top of that … my first couple years I was dealing with injuries, so I was in Kansas City, and I was working on rehab, and I was working on strengthening a lot of things more than I was working on my overall game.”
Kelce stressed the need for players to be their own worst critic, pushing themselves to recognize areas for improvement.
“Everybody’s different, but at the same time, we kind of mentioned it before this, you have to be real with yourself,” Kelce stated. So, players have to be hard on themselves and be their “own worst critic on what you’ve got to get better at. And the entire offseason, you need that yin and yang of like professional life and and non-professional life of being able to have that happy medium.”
He added, “So, you want to be able to get away from the game so that it’s fresh when you come back in and you feel that excitement and motivation, like it’s the first day of school or something." He further said, “So, I would always tell people be real with yourself. Figure out exactly what you need to do, find what that means in terms of how you’re going to get better at that and achieve that.”
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While Travis Kelce remains committed to his NFL career, his recent reflections and revelations show he's not just focused on the game he's thinking bigger. Whether it's dreaming of the NBA, diving into film production, or simply striving to grow both on and off the field, Kelce continues to prove he's a dynamic force with ambitions that reach far beyond the football field.