"For 21 straight years": LeBron James cites March Madness as the only time he feels like playing college basketball

Because he was such a gifted talent, LeBron James is part of the rare group to enter the NBA right out of high school. While he doesn't regret the decision, the 20-time All-Star has, at times, said he's had second thoughts about missing college.

Right now, March Madness is one of the hottest topics in the basketball world. The remaining teams are preparing for their Final Four matchups, with the national championship game slated for Monday.

On the "Mind the Game" podcast, LeBron James and JJ Redick discussed about the NCAA Tournament, where the four-time champion discussed his yearly regret about not playing in college.

"This is the only time. March Madness right now is the only time I think about playing college basketball," LeBron said. "For 21 straight years."

LeBron admitted that he doesn't watch much college basketball during the year. That changed a little bit now, as his son Bronny James is a freshman at USC.

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LeBron James admits to helping longtime friend during NCAA March Madness

Aside from watching his son play, LeBron James has other ties to college basketball. That has been on display during March Madness, as one of the LA Lakers star's longtime friends helped lead a team to an upset.

Duquesne's men's basketball team is coached by Dru Joyce. Dru and LeBron go way back, as the two played in high school together. As an 11th seed, Duquesne took down 6-ranked BYU in the first round, but the Dukes' run came to an end in round two against No. 3 seed Illinois.

When Duquesne pulled off the upset, LeBron James rushed to social media to applaud his friend. Nevertheless, he began going to work for him. While talking with JJ Redick, LeBron said he watched other games and sending his friend notes on their upcoming opponent.

"Right after the game, I was watching Illinois versus Morehead State scouting because that's who they play next," LeBron said. "Already sent notes, I got to watch like three quarters of game."

This is far from the first time that LeBron has spoken about the idea of playing in college.

During a broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, the WNBA legends asked him where he would have gone. Many assumed LeBron would have gone to Ohio State, but he named Duke and North Carolina as two probable landing spots.

Duke and UNC are two highly touted programs with a lot of history, so it's not shocking to see LeBron pick them. If he had chosen North Carolina, he would have followed in the footsteps of Michael Jordan.