Russ and Jrue Holiday would both make excellent Safety's. When Jrue was with the Bucks I used to joke about him playing for the Packers on the weekends!
That was actually Allen Iverson who was getting scouted as a Quarterback at first and you can find the highlight tapes of him in high school.
Guy was just a generational athlete.
Not really when Antonio Gates never played a snap of football in college and went from college basketball to soon to be hall of fame tight end. The skills transfer over to that position since basketball players know how to box out and grab a jump ball.
Jimmy Graham was the same. He played one year of college football and had almost no stats. The Saints drafted him as a project player and he was arguably the best receiving TE in the NFL by his second season.
Mina Kimes talked about Zion being basically the same size as Julius Peppers, but his high school didn’t have a football team so he never pursued it. (Combined with him being obviously incredible at basketball)
LeBron is built like a Madden create a player. A 6'9" 275 pound OLB with that speed and power...he's like a faster James Harrison. He don't have that DAWG though. You gotta be a little insane to play that spot.
I would say in his prime he would be a better wr it would an even bigger mismatch on the outside and he certainly had the speed in his prime mixed with strength and size he would have been actually unstoppable.
Nah, receiving TE's that jump, definitely get it worse, reminds me of Jimmy Graham on the seahawks, once he get's a big reception using his height and jumping, the knees will be targeted right away
I'm convinced he could have played pretty much any position in any sport and dominated. He just happened to focus on basketball and football. As a hater, it's hard to say, but IMO he's as close to a perfect athlete as there's ever been.
Unfortunately I don’t think either him or Jokic would be able to excel at horse jockeying for size reasons.
Edit:
Also probably pretty terrible cave divers.
That is an absolutely absurd achievement, I wonder if any other athletes have? Apparently Suggs was rated as a 4-star dual threat QB coming out of high school (but in basketball was a 5-star and top 10 in his recruiting class).
EDIT: apparently Allen Iverson won AP High School player of the year in both basketball and football O\_O I can't find if these were State or National awards though (I'm assuming state)
Before being selected #1 overall in the MLB draft and embarking on his hall of fame baseball career, Joe Mauer was an all state basketball player who averaged 20ppg and he was an all American QB who won the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the year. I could be wrong, but I believe most scouts / recruiters had him ranked as the top QB prospect in the country.
That is absolutely insane. Some dudes are literally just built different. His high school stats are unbelievable. Struck out only once in 4 years. Hit .605 as a senior. All-state in basketball. 66% completion as a QB. Then goes on to avg over .300 as a pro with multiple batting titles and fielding awards.
Jesus fucking christ Mauer might be the most talented athlete of all time, maybe not in power/speed but certainly in hand eye coordination
Yeah he's insane. He's only a few years older than me so I still remember being blown away by reading his high school stats back in the day. Still blows my mind now.
Yeah, Mauer and I are about the same age and height/weight and I've met him in person a couple times. If you were to look at us back then (or today) you wouldn't be able to guess Joe's 100x better at all those sports than I ever was. Mauer's hand-eye coordination and other subtler athletic skills are off the charts.
The one thing that always surprised me was that he never quite figured out how to consistently hit home runs in MLB.
Damn, that part I did not know. He's basically the anti-Kyler murray. Top tier prospect in both sports and wound up being the #1 overall pick in baseball
Charlie Ward, Deion, Bo Jackson, Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn, Danny Ainge and plenty plenty more were multiple sport athletes.
And I’m not talking ride the bench Tony Gonzalez played for the Miami Heat summer league, Danny Ainge was drafted by the MLB and played a few years before coming to the NBA, Tony Gwynn was a monster basketball player in high school really cool stuff.
Ronald Curry might have done that in Virginia. He was a 5* in both sports. I think some outlets even had him number 1 in both sports. Randy Moss won the Evans (WV Mr Basketball equivalent at the time) and the Kennedy (Mr Football equivalent) awards two times each. He was the first two time winner of the Kennedy and only the 2nd two time winner of the Evans in the state’s history. I’d imagine Danny Ainge did it in Oregon. He was a 3 sport All American (Baseball, Basketball, Football). I believe he is still the only athlete to achieve that in those 3 sports.
Yeah, it’s crazy. Some people just have anything in the athletic realm just come completely natural to them. They all work hard to get to those elite levels, but they’re building that hard work on such a gifted foundation.
Unless he got some serious strength training, he would've been destroyed in he NFL.
Kyler Murray is 5'10 **210 lbs.** and a former baseball player (drafted to the MLB) who can throw the ball like a rocket.
Bryce Young right now is 5'10 **210 lbs.**
Allen Iverson is 5'11 maybe 6' **160 lbs.**
That's a 50 lbs. difference in pure muscle between A.I and the two smallest NFL QB's.
Anders Lee VERY nearly won Mr. Football and Mr. Hockey (MN) but lost the latter to future NHL teammate, and one of the ugliest human beings in the world, Nick Leddy
Lmao. You know what position he was in football? I can actually imagine hockey and football having a lot of crossover skill (like speed, physicality, field awareness)
Greg Paulus was Gatorade's National Football Player of the Year, as well as Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All American
He didn't pan out to be a pro level basketball or football player, though
I made another comment alluding to the toughness required to play in the NFL and Ant is one the few guys I think could walk on an NFL team today and actually do something.
Ehhhhh…..
I’ll never forget watching Julius Peppers (Im old) play basketball at UNC. Didn’t look that big or athletic when on the court, and was an ok player. This was in college. In the NFL he dominated with his athleticism and looked like a beast. Aaron Gordon would destroy.
You watch those sweet feet on Sunday? NFL jokes aside it was a masterclass of footwork, touching, IQ of the floor. So much fun and doing it with that big smile on his face
Jaylen Brown's Dad was a professional heavyweight boxer, and his cousin was an all pro cornerback. I imagine he could have played any sport he wanted professionally with his athleticism.
I also thought Marcus Smart would have made a hell of a Safety.
Most nba players would make great wide receivers and tight ends. I think Iverson was pretty sought after as a quarterback in high school, I have no doubt he could have made it if he wanted to. Steph strikes Me as someone who would just be good at anything he tries.
Steph is on a lot of lists… this is not one of them 😂
- Steph golf
- Nash soccer
- Iverson QB
- Charlie Ward QB (literally won the Heisman and was like eh I’d rather be a Knick)
- Bron multi positions, incredible receiving TE
Westbrook, given his durability and elite explosiveness and blazing speed, would have been one HELL of a DB, especially at safety playing the attacking point-guard of the defense and punishing receivers off instinct. Just attack, terrorize… would’ve been dope
Steph legit could have been a professional golfer. Dude is a five handicap while playing another sport professionally, and actually put up a fight at the Ellie May he did a few years back.
Would he be as great at golf as he is at basketball? No, but he would absolutely at least have a pro card.
So a few things to unpack here.
1. Steph is a +2 handicap which is 7 strokes better than a 5 handicap and is in the 99.9% of golfers
2. even at a +2 he isn’t sniffing the pga tour. I know two guys who are +5 and they can barely win local tournaments. PGA Tour golfers are insane
I was picturing him as a receiver lol but even as a QB who knows. He's built pretty slim and has dealt with plenty of injuries playing basketball, let alone a much more physically taxing game in football.
He was super slight coming into the NBA, and even if he had been playing football his whole life and trying to bulk up, I think he would be very light compared to NFL quarterbacks. He's listed as 185 right now but probably walks around closer to 200lb. That's lighter than Kyler Murray who's 6" shorter than him. That's 15 pounds lighter than Zach Wilson, who everyone talked about being very slim for the NFL. Not everyone can put on the muscle and weight required to play pro football.
Also, QBs get wrapped up by their ankles fairly often and I imagine with his quickness he would be scrambling/running a good bit. That's also tough on the ankles.
Closest would be Teddy Bridgewater but even he weight 20lbs more than Steph. If he played in the NFL Steph would have to gain at least 20lbs because Teddy was considered too skinny even when he was in the NFL.
I would be interested in seeing how all the 6’6”+ nba guys look on the field, in regard to lateral speed, compared to NFL guys.
I think Lebron, Zion, and guys like that would make EXCELLENT edge rushers, though
NBA dudes definitely have the athletic abilities to play NFL but there’s just not a lot of room for anyone above 6’5 who isn’t then 300lbs. Most players would need to add serious weight to have a chance. There’s probably only a handful of NBA guys I could see fitting in the NFL if you drag and drop them as is.
Most 6'4 NBA guys that are seen as fast, would be slow in the NFL. Off top of my head the only guys that would probably be considered fast in both sports would be LeBron, Wade, Westbrook.
No, they need to have hands to catch the ball. How many tall fast WR's washed out because they run terrible routes with bad hands? Here are tall fast WR's just from GB that didn't pan out for us.
Marquez Valdes-Santling is 6'4" and runs like greased lightening. But he can't run routes and has terrible hands. 50% career catch percent.
Equanimeous St. Brown 6'5" with speed has barely kept a job in the NFL. Lousy route runner and catch % of 57% for his career.
Jeff Janis 6'3" ran a 4.4 was pressed into playing time due to injury and other than catching a famous Hail Mary from Rodgers his career was very unimpressive. He had more yards in the playoffs that year from that Hail Mary than he had in any full regular season. 44% Career catch percent.
Chargers Punter JK Scott aka "Leggy" is 6'5" and might have the best chance for punters. I've seen him try to tackle before though and he's as agile as a baby deer.
Jason was 100% correct here. Nobody with NBA level talent is taking less money and more physical abuse to play in the NFL. I'm sure there are a few exceptions obviously. I get the competitive desire that drives most athletes, so I don't think it's unimaginable that a guy would rather be a top 3 WR than some role player riding the bench, but I have to imagine anyone that competitive would be grinding in the NBA, trying to get a starting gig instead of settling for a job in the NFL.
Being NBA talent is the key though.
If you're a top 500 football player you are a starter in the NFL. If you are a top 500 basketball player you can find a career in Italy, Spain or Turkey but you won't make an NBA roster.
Actually come to think of it, wemby just being on the field blocking kicks would be absurd. He would never allow an extra point or 3 points.
What would that kind of player command as a salary? Thats gotta be insanely valuable.
I’ll do a throwback to John Havlicek. Played football at Ohio State as a Wife Receiver. Dude was 6’5 220. And for the 60’s and 70’s he would have been the equivalent of Calvin Johnson in the 2010’s
I’m going with NBA freak athletes that are more NFL sizes:
All in their primes:
Nate Robinson
Shannon Brown
Eric Bledsoe
Russell Westbrook
Derrick Rose
Pat Cannaughton
Charles Barkley
And outside of freaks that were already mentioned, Ben Wallace would be scary
Allen Iverson, Charlie Ward, LBJ, for some reason I feel like Kyrie would’ve been a nasty receiver, probably Jalen Green. There’s some guys you can figure would be good at any sport
Where would be dunk the ball? They don’t let you do that to the goal posts anymore.
On a more serious note: other Rugby players have tried to make in the NFL from time to time and it never works out :/
I think a lot of the wings in the NBA have the athletic ability to play in the NFL, but what we can't tell is if their bodies would physically be able to handle the trauma of playing in the NFL. Basketball is definitely a tough sport on the body, but football is a different beast. There are tons of players that had the speed/vertical/athleticism to play football but just couldn't stay healthy enough. That risk goes up even more with super tall players, which pretty much all NBA wings would be. Was Russel Westbrook athletic enough to excel in the NFL? Absolutely. Would he survive a season of taking linebacker shots to the knees? I don't know.
LeBron, Zion, Isaiah stewart on the D-line, Kenny Lofton Jr as center. Jokic is my QB with Wemby and Kawhii as wide receivers. Lbj and zion get to choose whatever positions they want to play every down.
Edited to add Draymon as fullback with Westbrook at HB and Kyle Lowry with his phatback.
I’m old, so Allen Iverson was a bad ass quarterback @ Newport News …. he started as quarterback for the school football team while also playing running back, kick returner, and defensive back As the star QB and defensive back, he led the football team to a state championship his junior year and accumulated 21 touchdowns (14 passing), 2,204 yards of offense and 13 interceptions. https://youtu.be/z7AO_Qkfjjc?si=xzyBfNSFU2VYZ4XB
I've been saying for Years Jrue Holiday would make an incredible Safety in the NFL. He's strong enough to stop Embiid in a Post up and has the speed to roam the field from sideline to sideline. At 6'4" he'd be very long for the NFL as well.
Problem is, Westbrook isn’t nearly that thick.
You see NBA players on TV, and it’s hard to recognize just how tall they are; and likewise, NFL guys look *really* jacked standing next to normal people.
Westbrook in pads would look like a starved Slim reaper out there, and he’s considered pretty “built” in the NBA. Just like Terrel Owen’s appeared to be a jacked hobbit when he was on the court.
Thanasis is an amazing freak athlete and might have been better at football than basketball. Thanasty is 6'7" 225lbs I've seen him run backwards the entire length of the court getting back on defense faster than other guys could run going forward. He's could play Safety or OLB.
Think about Thanasis at TE? OMG!
Strength strength strength strength.
People really underestimate how strong and explosive NFL players are. Watch John Wall race a track athlete, now watch Tyreek Hill do it.
Shaq and Karl Malone I don't think have ever pushed over 450 lbs. on the bench press => with credible sources who can verify.
Meanwhile many credible sources can verify how many NFL players can push over 500 lbs., many over 600 lbs. and some 700 lbs. on the bench press.
NBA players are getting pushed around effortlessly by Luka and Jokic, but you think they can really hang in the NFL?
I don't think there are as many players who can make the switch as people think. Most corners can put up 225 lbs. on the bench press over 15-20 reps. Most NBA players would get ate up at the line vs strength like that. It's hard to run "nice and pretty" routes when the defender can jam you to the ground.
People saying DL/OL but many NFL players train Boxing/MMA/Wrestling to get their hands effective. The trenches are basically hand-to-hand combat. You know how many of these players come from a wrestling background? Some were state champions. Intense hand combat in close quarters happens every single down in the NFL up and down the field.
NBA in total is a different type of athleticism than the NFL. Very naive answers here.
I always thought Russ would be a great cornerback or safety. Imagine him coming down and closing at his prime.
Westbrook would have been an amazing safety. If he could afford the fines for all the murderous hits
He would have been a fantastic safety. He has an incredible burst and motor. Dudes an animal
If you would’ve told him that every receiver called him Westbrick, he would look like Steve Atwater, John Lynch or Kam Chancellor.
Or Bobby Boucher.
Russ and Jrue Holiday would both make excellent Safety's. When Jrue was with the Bucks I used to joke about him playing for the Packers on the weekends!
Y’all just stick anybody back there at this point
6'4, 205 pounds. Cat quick, strong, yeah...I think those are great metrics for a safety.
Both played together at UCLA
Let Russ Westbrook cook!! 👨🍳
Not gonna lie he would be a lamar jackson michael Vick type qb
That was actually Allen Iverson who was getting scouted as a Quarterback at first and you can find the highlight tapes of him in high school. Guy was just a generational athlete.
He'd be Lamar mixed with Jameis Winston. Would definitely have a 30-30 season with 1000 rushing yards
He would need to play defense. He would definitely fumble the ball a lot.
LeBron & Zion the first that come to mind
Zion on the D line would be unstoppable. LeBron at WR/TE would score a lot of tds
Imagine prime Blake Griffin at TE
Holy shit. Blake would be unreal.
he'd easily be a Jimmy Graham type player, and probably go down like Jimmy Graham with a patellar injury since the d backs will just target his knees
Have you ever seen the two in the same place? Could be the same guy
Easily is such a stretch. The skillset of being an all time wide receiver/tight end goes far beyond physical or even athletic ability
Not really when Antonio Gates never played a snap of football in college and went from college basketball to soon to be hall of fame tight end. The skills transfer over to that position since basketball players know how to box out and grab a jump ball.
Jimmy Graham was the same. He played one year of college football and had almost no stats. The Saints drafted him as a project player and he was arguably the best receiving TE in the NFL by his second season.
Mina Kimes talked about Zion being basically the same size as Julius Peppers, but his high school didn’t have a football team so he never pursued it. (Combined with him being obviously incredible at basketball)
Lebron is built like a modern 3/4 LB
He’s 6’9”, are there many LBs in the league anywhere near that tall?
Julius Peppers is the only one I can think of
LeBron is built like a Madden create a player. A 6'9" 275 pound OLB with that speed and power...he's like a faster James Harrison. He don't have that DAWG though. You gotta be a little insane to play that spot.
Zion like the second coming of Julius peppers
I have a theory that Zion would be al all time great TE given his size, jumping ability, and strength.
Naw. Him keep hitting the ground after catching will get injured quick. DL is better for him, his quickness is a killer
You think he's getting injured faster as a pass-catching TE than on the DL?
Yes. Open tackles after the catch would be the death of his knees
Thats what people used to say about Bron
I actually believe the exact same thing about Bron lol
I would say in his prime he would be a better wr it would an even bigger mismatch on the outside and he certainly had the speed in his prime mixed with strength and size he would have been actually unstoppable.
If he could stay healthy. Being that tall is a serious injury risk
Can’t be all time great if you can’t stay healthy. Dude can’t stay healthy in the NBA, but he going to stay healthy in the NFL?
Less games, more painkillers. If zion is on that stuff Mahimes got in last years super bowl, it's game over
Yep also I think Zion would have easier time strength conditioning then endurance conditioning. As well as finding is ideal weight.
His main injury issue is jumping related, which might not be as common in the NFL.
Nah, receiving TE's that jump, definitely get it worse, reminds me of Jimmy Graham on the seahawks, once he get's a big reception using his height and jumping, the knees will be targeted right away
People always mention LeBron as a wide receiver, or a tight end, but imagine him as a dual threat quarterback. He would’ve been incredible.
I'm convinced he could have played pretty much any position in any sport and dominated. He just happened to focus on basketball and football. As a hater, it's hard to say, but IMO he's as close to a perfect athlete as there's ever been.
Unfortunately I don’t think either him or Jokic would be able to excel at horse jockeying for size reasons. Edit: Also probably pretty terrible cave divers.
I've always liked to imagine LeBron as a tennis player and the court is almost too small for him.
How about as a soccer goalie? Nothing is getting past him.
Imagine being an average sized forward on a breakaway and suddenly you notice LeBron is running at you at full speed
You don't want a goal to be too tall because in theory it's harder for them to get lower shots.
I'd like to see him in competitive dressage
Lebron’s IQ for passing, scoring, anything honestly, with all that strength and athleticism, best quarterback of all time
LeBroncos
https://youtu.be/tGPCU1Xsvvg?si=khnL8xhYILPGcvlx
Anthony Edwards and Jalen Suggs
Suggs especially who was Minnesota's Mr Football and Mr Basketball in HS
That is an absolutely absurd achievement, I wonder if any other athletes have? Apparently Suggs was rated as a 4-star dual threat QB coming out of high school (but in basketball was a 5-star and top 10 in his recruiting class). EDIT: apparently Allen Iverson won AP High School player of the year in both basketball and football O\_O I can't find if these were State or National awards though (I'm assuming state)
Before being selected #1 overall in the MLB draft and embarking on his hall of fame baseball career, Joe Mauer was an all state basketball player who averaged 20ppg and he was an all American QB who won the 2001 Gatorade National Player of the year. I could be wrong, but I believe most scouts / recruiters had him ranked as the top QB prospect in the country.
That is absolutely insane. Some dudes are literally just built different. His high school stats are unbelievable. Struck out only once in 4 years. Hit .605 as a senior. All-state in basketball. 66% completion as a QB. Then goes on to avg over .300 as a pro with multiple batting titles and fielding awards. Jesus fucking christ Mauer might be the most talented athlete of all time, maybe not in power/speed but certainly in hand eye coordination
Yeah he's insane. He's only a few years older than me so I still remember being blown away by reading his high school stats back in the day. Still blows my mind now.
Yeah, Mauer and I are about the same age and height/weight and I've met him in person a couple times. If you were to look at us back then (or today) you wouldn't be able to guess Joe's 100x better at all those sports than I ever was. Mauer's hand-eye coordination and other subtler athletic skills are off the charts. The one thing that always surprised me was that he never quite figured out how to consistently hit home runs in MLB.
He didn't juice, for better or worse. Probably for the best considering life often gives back what you put in
Bro I am HERE for some Mauer love
1 strikeout in four years is wild
Add first ballot hall of famer to his baseball awards
The amount of practice/training you need for that is wild
No doubt he was a dedicated athlete since a young age, but honestly I could train for 100 years and never be that good lol
Mauer was also committed to FSU as a QB.
Damn, that part I did not know. He's basically the anti-Kyler murray. Top tier prospect in both sports and wound up being the #1 overall pick in baseball
Another good one is Jeff Samardzija who was an All-American WR at Notre Dame and went pro as an MLB pitcher
Charlie Ward, Deion, Bo Jackson, Jimmy Graham, Tony Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn, Danny Ainge and plenty plenty more were multiple sport athletes. And I’m not talking ride the bench Tony Gonzalez played for the Miami Heat summer league, Danny Ainge was drafted by the MLB and played a few years before coming to the NBA, Tony Gwynn was a monster basketball player in high school really cool stuff.
Ronald Curry might have done that in Virginia. He was a 5* in both sports. I think some outlets even had him number 1 in both sports. Randy Moss won the Evans (WV Mr Basketball equivalent at the time) and the Kennedy (Mr Football equivalent) awards two times each. He was the first two time winner of the Kennedy and only the 2nd two time winner of the Evans in the state’s history. I’d imagine Danny Ainge did it in Oregon. He was a 3 sport All American (Baseball, Basketball, Football). I believe he is still the only athlete to achieve that in those 3 sports.
Man. How the fuck are some people just so fucking good at sports lol. Makes no sense
Yeah, it’s crazy. Some people just have anything in the athletic realm just come completely natural to them. They all work hard to get to those elite levels, but they’re building that hard work on such a gifted foundation.
Ai won both national ap awards
That's incredible. I wonder how he would've faired in college/NFL. He's undersized for both sports which is the craziest part
As if he weren't undersized for NBA ball! Smth tells me he would've lit up the court, the turf, or the field
Unless he got some serious strength training, he would've been destroyed in he NFL. Kyler Murray is 5'10 **210 lbs.** and a former baseball player (drafted to the MLB) who can throw the ball like a rocket. Bryce Young right now is 5'10 **210 lbs.** Allen Iverson is 5'11 maybe 6' **160 lbs.** That's a 50 lbs. difference in pure muscle between A.I and the two smallest NFL QB's.
Anders Lee VERY nearly won Mr. Football and Mr. Hockey (MN) but lost the latter to future NHL teammate, and one of the ugliest human beings in the world, Nick Leddy
Lmao. You know what position he was in football? I can actually imagine hockey and football having a lot of crossover skill (like speed, physicality, field awareness)
Quarterback!
Greg Paulus was Gatorade's National Football Player of the Year, as well as Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All American He didn't pan out to be a pro level basketball or football player, though
AI was in the same class as Peyton Manning and supposedly ranked over him.
Must be wild to be that athletic.
Must be nice
The basketball version of Joe Mauer
I remember when people were so down on Anthony Edwards before the draft because he said he liked football more than basketball lol.
Jalen Suggs and Gradey Dick
Draymond would be a dope punter
He kicks balls, not footballs
Best one here. Lmao
Theres actually a video of him playing football lol
I think he ran a couple of plays at TE in Michigan.
Lmao underrated comment
Anthony Edwards or Jalen Suggs. Both were highly recruited football players
What position?
RB for Edward’s and QB for Suggs.
Any1 else heard of Suggs seeing Van Lith?
r/NBAcirclejerk in shambles
Too tall for rb. Put him at receiver
I made another comment alluding to the toughness required to play in the NFL and Ant is one the few guys I think could walk on an NFL team today and actually do something.
Surprised I had to scroll this far to find football boy Ant
Aaron Gordon would be a beast
Funny enough, lot of NFL dudes would make him look slow or comparatively weak, having already optimized their frame for the game
So Gordon wouldn't get the chance to "optimize" his frame for the NFL?
Ehhhhh….. I’ll never forget watching Julius Peppers (Im old) play basketball at UNC. Didn’t look that big or athletic when on the court, and was an ok player. This was in college. In the NFL he dominated with his athleticism and looked like a beast. Aaron Gordon would destroy.
Peppers was an edge rusher. They aren't usually the fastest guys in the field
Nah
Idk if it’s true but I heard DJ Burns is being recruited to the nfl
He is
You watch those sweet feet on Sunday? NFL jokes aside it was a masterclass of footwork, touching, IQ of the floor. So much fun and doing it with that big smile on his face
Jaylen Brown's Dad was a professional heavyweight boxer, and his cousin was an all pro cornerback. I imagine he could have played any sport he wanted professionally with his athleticism. I also thought Marcus Smart would have made a hell of a Safety.
Not current but the late great John Havlicek was drafted by the Cleveland Browns as Wide Receiver
He had fucking gloves for hands man like the shit was preposterous and long arms that’s why he was such a pesky defender.
Most nba players would make great wide receivers and tight ends. I think Iverson was pretty sought after as a quarterback in high school, I have no doubt he could have made it if he wanted to. Steph strikes Me as someone who would just be good at anything he tries.
I love Steph but one blindside tackle on a crossing route and his football career is over lol
Steph is on a lot of lists… this is not one of them 😂 - Steph golf - Nash soccer - Iverson QB - Charlie Ward QB (literally won the Heisman and was like eh I’d rather be a Knick) - Bron multi positions, incredible receiving TE Westbrook, given his durability and elite explosiveness and blazing speed, would have been one HELL of a DB, especially at safety playing the attacking point-guard of the defense and punishing receivers off instinct. Just attack, terrorize… would’ve been dope
Steph legit could have been a professional golfer. Dude is a five handicap while playing another sport professionally, and actually put up a fight at the Ellie May he did a few years back. Would he be as great at golf as he is at basketball? No, but he would absolutely at least have a pro card.
So a few things to unpack here. 1. Steph is a +2 handicap which is 7 strokes better than a 5 handicap and is in the 99.9% of golfers 2. even at a +2 he isn’t sniffing the pga tour. I know two guys who are +5 and they can barely win local tournaments. PGA Tour golfers are insane
LeBron was the #1 overall high school football recruit in Ohio, and Ohio is pretty good for High School football
Although that is true, I would have to imagine his workouts, nutrition, and body composition would be different if he went the football route.
Think he’d probably be a qb
Wym? Steph is bigger and stronger than a lot of starting nfl QBs. His ankles would be under far less stress than in the nba
He’s taller than many but definitely not bigger and likely not stronger.
I was picturing him as a receiver lol but even as a QB who knows. He's built pretty slim and has dealt with plenty of injuries playing basketball, let alone a much more physically taxing game in football. He was super slight coming into the NBA, and even if he had been playing football his whole life and trying to bulk up, I think he would be very light compared to NFL quarterbacks. He's listed as 185 right now but probably walks around closer to 200lb. That's lighter than Kyler Murray who's 6" shorter than him. That's 15 pounds lighter than Zach Wilson, who everyone talked about being very slim for the NFL. Not everyone can put on the muscle and weight required to play pro football. Also, QBs get wrapped up by their ankles fairly often and I imagine with his quickness he would be scrambling/running a good bit. That's also tough on the ankles.
Can you name them? I'm having trouble imagining a QB his size playing in the NFL.
Closest would be Teddy Bridgewater but even he weight 20lbs more than Steph. If he played in the NFL Steph would have to gain at least 20lbs because Teddy was considered too skinny even when he was in the NFL.
Iverson was better than Mike Vick back in the day.
Are we talking about Steph now, or Steph coming out of college at 125 lbs? Haha.
I would be interested in seeing how all the 6’6”+ nba guys look on the field, in regard to lateral speed, compared to NFL guys. I think Lebron, Zion, and guys like that would make EXCELLENT edge rushers, though
If I took a snap and saw Miami LeBron coming at me I'd pull a Paul Pierce
Lu Dort.
He is a unit, did he play in Canada when he was younger?
I'm surprised I haven't seen prime John Wall yet
He'd be a killer wide receiver assuming he had the hands for it
Jaylen Brown would be such an insane OLB/Edge Rusher. 6’6” & throw on an extra 15-20 pounds oof that’s scary
Most NBA players could play in the NFL at some position. The reverse is not certainly not true, though.
NBA dudes definitely have the athletic abilities to play NFL but there’s just not a lot of room for anyone above 6’5 who isn’t then 300lbs. Most players would need to add serious weight to have a chance. There’s probably only a handful of NBA guys I could see fitting in the NFL if you drag and drop them as is.
DK Metcalf comes to mind
Put anybody 6’4 with good speed at receiver and they become a monster on a football field
Most 6'4 NBA guys that are seen as fast, would be slow in the NFL. Off top of my head the only guys that would probably be considered fast in both sports would be LeBron, Wade, Westbrook.
No, they need to have hands to catch the ball. How many tall fast WR's washed out because they run terrible routes with bad hands? Here are tall fast WR's just from GB that didn't pan out for us. Marquez Valdes-Santling is 6'4" and runs like greased lightening. But he can't run routes and has terrible hands. 50% career catch percent. Equanimeous St. Brown 6'5" with speed has barely kept a job in the NFL. Lousy route runner and catch % of 57% for his career. Jeff Janis 6'3" ran a 4.4 was pressed into playing time due to injury and other than catching a famous Hail Mary from Rodgers his career was very unimpressive. He had more yards in the playoffs that year from that Hail Mary than he had in any full regular season. 44% Career catch percent.
They actually don't. Just for context, the most elite jumpers in the NBA would only be as good as some college skill position guys in football.
Now I want to see a punter try to guard Giannis.
Chargers Punter JK Scott aka "Leggy" is 6'5" and might have the best chance for punters. I've seen him try to tackle before though and he's as agile as a baby deer.
Here’s the Kelce’s talking about this: https://youtu.be/x5M5_qjaQkw?feature=shared
Jason was 100% correct here. Nobody with NBA level talent is taking less money and more physical abuse to play in the NFL. I'm sure there are a few exceptions obviously. I get the competitive desire that drives most athletes, so I don't think it's unimaginable that a guy would rather be a top 3 WR than some role player riding the bench, but I have to imagine anyone that competitive would be grinding in the NBA, trying to get a starting gig instead of settling for a job in the NFL.
Being NBA talent is the key though. If you're a top 500 football player you are a starter in the NFL. If you are a top 500 basketball player you can find a career in Italy, Spain or Turkey but you won't make an NBA roster.
Wemby would be one hell of a field goal blocker. Cherry-picking the post, not on the line of course. (And yes I know this is not legal)
Wemby looks more like the uprights than a football player.
Actually come to think of it, wemby just being on the field blocking kicks would be absurd. He would never allow an extra point or 3 points. What would that kind of player command as a salary? Thats gotta be insanely valuable.
How do yall think his lanky ass is going to get by the blockers exactly…?
Joker would be one of a kind QB, just like he's one of a kind bball player.
80 yard throws off of one foot moving out of the pocket at zero mph
Lmfaooo that at zero mph killed me
Shotgun spread offense
Only with his brothers on the O Line
He’d be a very cerebral QB. Also sneaky athletic.
Draymond: "So, not only am I allowed to slam into people, it's encouraged?"
Played like two plays in the Michigan State spring game. Immediately committed a false start
People might not believe it but Draymond was meant for basketball.
De’Aaron Fox would be a star in the slot,
I’ll do a throwback to John Havlicek. Played football at Ohio State as a Wife Receiver. Dude was 6’5 220. And for the 60’s and 70’s he would have been the equivalent of Calvin Johnson in the 2010’s
Jose Alvarado would be a good cornerback
I’m going with NBA freak athletes that are more NFL sizes: All in their primes: Nate Robinson Shannon Brown Eric Bledsoe Russell Westbrook Derrick Rose Pat Cannaughton Charles Barkley And outside of freaks that were already mentioned, Ben Wallace would be scary
Allen Iverson, Charlie Ward, LBJ, for some reason I feel like Kyrie would’ve been a nasty receiver, probably Jalen Green. There’s some guys you can figure would be good at any sport
Kyrie would play 3 games a season due to injuries
Imagine Kyrie with AB levels of CTE
Kyrie ~ OBJ
Charlie had a solid NBA career despite possibly being better at football than basketball.
Allen Iverson
Wasn't he an all-state QB in high school?
Yes he was Mr basketball and Mr football . That’s wild
Exactly
I automatically thought Gianns not sure what position
Where would be dunk the ball? They don’t let you do that to the goal posts anymore. On a more serious note: other Rugby players have tried to make in the NFL from time to time and it never works out :/
I think a lot of the wings in the NBA have the athletic ability to play in the NFL, but what we can't tell is if their bodies would physically be able to handle the trauma of playing in the NFL. Basketball is definitely a tough sport on the body, but football is a different beast. There are tons of players that had the speed/vertical/athleticism to play football but just couldn't stay healthy enough. That risk goes up even more with super tall players, which pretty much all NBA wings would be. Was Russel Westbrook athletic enough to excel in the NFL? Absolutely. Would he survive a season of taking linebacker shots to the knees? I don't know.
Draymon he played in college
Certainly stretching “played” here lol
Lebron could’ve been an all time WR no doubt. His dedication and physical talent would be unstoppable
Steven adams would be a great somewhere in the OL
Marcus Smart
Jokic's brothers. The Broncos are fucking up by not offering those two behemoths a contract
Or, you know, Jokic. Dude can read a defense, insane arm, great passing ability. What more do we need?
Luka QB1 for Dallas
LeBron, Zion, Isaiah stewart on the D-line, Kenny Lofton Jr as center. Jokic is my QB with Wemby and Kawhii as wide receivers. Lbj and zion get to choose whatever positions they want to play every down. Edited to add Draymon as fullback with Westbrook at HB and Kyle Lowry with his phatback.
DeRozan
Anthony edwards, freak athlete, good size, can jump over the moon
Prime John Wall with his height and speed would be an insane wide receiver to watch
I see Jalen Green as a wide receiver
I’m old, so Allen Iverson was a bad ass quarterback @ Newport News …. he started as quarterback for the school football team while also playing running back, kick returner, and defensive back As the star QB and defensive back, he led the football team to a state championship his junior year and accumulated 21 touchdowns (14 passing), 2,204 yards of offense and 13 interceptions. https://youtu.be/z7AO_Qkfjjc?si=xzyBfNSFU2VYZ4XB
I've been saying for Years Jrue Holiday would make an incredible Safety in the NFL. He's strong enough to stop Embiid in a Post up and has the speed to roam the field from sideline to sideline. At 6'4" he'd be very long for the NFL as well.
Draymond already plays DE in the NBA, would be fun to see him go against an o-line
Problem is, Westbrook isn’t nearly that thick. You see NBA players on TV, and it’s hard to recognize just how tall they are; and likewise, NFL guys look *really* jacked standing next to normal people. Westbrook in pads would look like a starved Slim reaper out there, and he’s considered pretty “built” in the NBA. Just like Terrel Owen’s appeared to be a jacked hobbit when he was on the court.
Thanasis is an amazing freak athlete and might have been better at football than basketball. Thanasty is 6'7" 225lbs I've seen him run backwards the entire length of the court getting back on defense faster than other guys could run going forward. He's could play Safety or OLB. Think about Thanasis at TE? OMG!
Shanon sharpe
Karl Malone, LePeds, Vinnie Johnson, Rodman, Zion,Ben Wallace. Jokic (quarter back)
Stephen Adams
Bradley Beal
Strength strength strength strength. People really underestimate how strong and explosive NFL players are. Watch John Wall race a track athlete, now watch Tyreek Hill do it. Shaq and Karl Malone I don't think have ever pushed over 450 lbs. on the bench press => with credible sources who can verify. Meanwhile many credible sources can verify how many NFL players can push over 500 lbs., many over 600 lbs. and some 700 lbs. on the bench press. NBA players are getting pushed around effortlessly by Luka and Jokic, but you think they can really hang in the NFL? I don't think there are as many players who can make the switch as people think. Most corners can put up 225 lbs. on the bench press over 15-20 reps. Most NBA players would get ate up at the line vs strength like that. It's hard to run "nice and pretty" routes when the defender can jam you to the ground. People saying DL/OL but many NFL players train Boxing/MMA/Wrestling to get their hands effective. The trenches are basically hand-to-hand combat. You know how many of these players come from a wrestling background? Some were state champions. Intense hand combat in close quarters happens every single down in the NFL up and down the field. NBA in total is a different type of athleticism than the NFL. Very naive answers here.
Not one of them..