You never really know what the future has in store or where life will take you. At least that’s the case for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

At just 23-years-old, Evans has already managed to establish himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL after racking up 3,500 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Bucs. In fact, Evans had his best season yet in 2016 when he quickly emerged as Jameis Winston’s No. 1 target and one of the most dominant players in the league which ultimately helped him earn his very first Pro Bowl selection.

However, long before he even had the opportunity to suit up in pewter and red on Sundays, Evans had no idea he would even have a future in the NFL. As far as he was concerned, he had a better chance making a living on the hardwood as opposed to the gridiron.

During this week’s “HoopsHype Podcast” with Alex Kennedy, Evans took some time to discuss life before the NFL and his time with the Buccaneers.

Evans said he began playing basketball when he was 8 years old and played all throughout elementary, middle and high school where he emerged as a standout high school basketball player. During his time at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas he received more offers to play basketball instead of football after averaging 18.3 points and 5.2 assists during his senior campaign.

Evans received 30 basketball offers from “small to big time schools,” including the University of Texas, VCU and Wichita State, among a long list of others and was heavily recruited to play guard.

Pursuing basketball made the most logical sense to him at the time since he was only a three-star football recruit. But at the end of the day, it was his love for the game of football and his intuition that enticed him to take a risky gamble and commit to Texas A&M and pursue football instead.

“When I decided to commit to Texas A&M I thought I had a higher ceiling and felt that I could make a career out of it and I did,” Evans said during the podcast. “I ended up choosing football and it ended up being the right route.”

Evans believes he could have potentially had a future in the NBA, but couldn’t be happier with his decision to stick with his first love and pursue a career in the NFL. A choice that appears to be paying off without a doubt.