30 NBA Players in the NFL Would Be an Absolute Bloodbath
Austin Rivers recently made some comments that sent current and former professional players into a tizzy. River’s stated…
“I can take 30 players right now in the NBA and throw them in the NFL. You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA.”
Austin Rivers via The Pat McAfee Show
I laughed extremely hard hearing this before getting back to my regularly scheduled life. The comments picked up steam in the days following with reactions from retired players like Chris Long and James Jones chiming in to voice their displeasure with the statement.
Chris Long ranted about how NBA players wouldn’t even make it through training camp let alone an NFL game or season. He added some very impressive points of emphasis as well. James Jones spent some time clapping back at Austin Rivers due to a statement that included the word “meathead” aimed in Jones’ direction.
I spent time assessing what more prominent people were saying about the issue and really hearing what reputable people had to say. With more information I began to adjustment my stance on how I felt about the subject.
Bomani Jones’ recent Friday podcast with Domonic Foxworth hit on some very good points. Foxworth said at one point in time, all the football players were at best the 3rd best hooper on the team and then saw they could be the star safety on the football team. I agree with that. Basketball you have five players on the floor at one time while in football you have 11. Football gives you a better chance to be on the field in a position that fits you.
Football players are smarter in this respect because we recognize simple math. There are more attainable football scholarships than basketball scholarships. On one hand, it’s being able to continue to play a sport after high school concludes while also striving to go to school for the freeskii was well.
Personal History
It’s always important to add personal context to any story or argument.
For one, it may give humor to the already juicy topic.
Secondly, it can give great insight as to why a person thinks the way they do.
In this article I use “we” when referring to football players. I’ve played football since the age of eight and I will forever look at things through that lens first. I played a combined 12 years of football in high school, college, and the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. I’ve seen some things.
I remember watching basketball players come out to football practice to try out for the team in high school. Some lasted a couple days through training then vanished into thin air once we started putting the pads on (I didn’t forget CJ). I’m positive there have been more basketball players that have “quit” football than vice versa.
Searching for evidence and material, I came across more athletes speaking about the time they went out to play football only to take a hard hit or get injured. These people went right back to basketball and left that football life alone. Smart people if you ask me.
I’ve never once heard anyone say “I was playing basketball and took a charge and that’s when I knew hoops wasn’t for me dawg.”
I played basketball in little league and in middle school. Then I got to high school and realized I wanted to focus on football and baseball (football mostly). So I retired from the sport of basketball.
I’ve been to plenty of football and baseball camps, but I never went to one single basketball or skills camp. It was just another sport to me. My time and attention for skill development went into football and baseball.
My goal was to earn a scholarship and I knew the best way for me to do that would be through either football or baseball. Early in high school I was hovering around six feet. Plus, basketball was something I did when football ended and I waited for baseball to begin. It wasn’t something I loved.
If I had to rank my sports and my athletic ability, football was the sport I was best in and baseball was a close second.
I was able to compete in both during high school because they took place in different seasons. Spring was the only time they would overlap if I was participating in Spring football. When I wasn’t in season for football, I was in the weight room lifting to build muscle as well as off season conditioning (running). My obsession was to get bigger, faster, and stronger for the upcoming season.
Football isn’t for the meek. Many would say that you have to be crazy or insane to want to play football and do the things we do in our sport, but there is danger and the possibility of injury in any sport you play. Football has become the most notable.
Football is unlike any other sport there is. So while people want to say we play the sport no one would “willingly” play, we play the sport that has grown to be America’s sport. Individuals will throw Super Bowl parties because they know it’s the biggest sporting event of the year. I don’t know many people that play fantasy basketball, but I can count hundreds of people that regularly participate in fantasy football.
With that being said, football is a much more physical game than basketball. It’s in the confines of the game where you see just how physical it is. On EVERY SINGLE PLAY. Maybe if you consider basketball in the 80’s you would have a valid argument for physicality. But in the game today, it’s pretty much non existent.
NFL = NOT FOR LONG
I was told a while ago that the NFL stands for Not For Long.
The average NFL career is roughly two years. There are 53 players on a roster going into the season for each team. In total, there are 1,696 players in the league every year. Each year there are roughly 224 players drafted out of college that more often than not make the roster. This number can also be more if you consider the undrafted free agents that earn a spot on the team as well.
These statistics alone should allow you to see the revolving door when it comes to incoming/outgoing players on a yearly basis. To make room for 224+ players entering the NFL, 224+ players must exit as well.
NBA = NO BUSTERS ALLOWED
I was told a while ago that the NBA stand for No Busters Allowed.
I’m tripping, that was a bar from a rap group out of Texas either LBP (Laid Back Playaz) or DSR (Dirty South Rydaz).
I’m not up to date with the average career of an NBA player but I do know that there are 450 players on NBA rosters during the season. Basketball teams are much smaller due to roster stipulation for a capacity of 15 players per team.
During the 2022-2023 season, the average height of an NBA player was 6’6”. This height is 8 inches taller than the average US male which should allow you to see the discrepancy from a hooper to a mere moral. This will go into my argument later on how we are comparing apples to oranges for two different sports.
Former NBA player Austin Rivers comments/stance were idiotic but he is entitled to his opinion. I think he is ill informed on the differences in what it takes to be successful in each sport.
My first thought when this exploded was why are we making this comparison? Two different sports with different body types and points of emphasis are arguments that jump to the forefront of my mind.
Knowing how athletes claim and think we can do all things anyway, I decided to visit this and really discuss it. Knowing that many professional athletes played multiple sports growing up, I thought it would be fun to find evidence and put this to the test.
One good thing I found when looking back at athletes playing careers, there are more instances of football players who also competed in basketball in college opposed to basketball players competing in football. There may be examples not mentioned here but I’m sure I discuss the notable cases.
Apples to Oranges
First of all, we are comparing apples to oranges. I’m all about a good substantive argument that can make people think critically. The truth is we wouldn’t be able to jump over and play their sport and they wouldn’t be able to jump over and play ours. Point blank period.
Hoopers are too light in the ass (with the exception of Shaq) and would get pushed around based on their skinny/rangy body composition rather than a smaller and compact version. Although they have the height, height doesn’t necessary mean anything in the football world unless you’re going up to get the football as a WR or TE. Having a tall defensive lineman would allow you to bat the ball down and obstruct the QB’s line of sight when throwing the ball.
But if you’re going to play tight end, you also have to block those massive defensive linemen and linebackers as well. As I mentioned above, hoopers are light in the ass and that wouldn’t be a great matchup for them.
Football players are built to be more muscular, powerful, and fast. An NFL play from start to finish is around four seconds. We build muscle around our bones so we can withstand hits and punishment that feel like mini car crashes on every play. You have to have a powerful lower body so you can use your leverage to your advantage against your opponent. Whether that’s preventing them from getting past you or powering through them to gain yardage for your team and skill players.
There are worthwhile reasons you won’t find many extremely tall football players. I think tall athletes in general get funneled to basketball. If you are over 6’5”/6’6” in football, you will most likely play offensive line, defensive line, wide receiver or tight end. Offensive and defensive line are super technical positions to adapt to. I would also say quarterback but people often aren’t just moved to quarterback due to the cerebral component of it.
So your height limits the ability on the position you would be able to play. In conjunction with this, if you’re tall, you need to be able to bend to gain leverage on your opponent. If you can’t get leverage, you won’t be a successful football player. You’ll get bowled over every snap. It’s physics (I did horrible in physics class in high school and even I know this).
Although I don’t think anyone on any side would be able to cross over and play the other sport professionally, I can’t ignore those that were able to excel and do both at the collegiate level.
Hoops to Football vs. Football to Hoops
You can talk about it or you can be about it.
These players below actually played both football and basketball in college. Not dating all the way back to high school before making that business decision to give it up. A few ballers on this list you can find ACTUAL FOOTAGE of them playing in the NCAA tournament taking their team past the 1st round. So it’s not like these cats did this in the 1950’s or something.
Most athletes on this list make up the tight end/defensive end position. That’s definitely the spot where you’ll have the combination of height, size, speed, and agility to transfer over with both sports.
Athletes that are ”tweeners” (in between) on the basketball court can have success on the football field. They may be a short basketball player but they end up being a tall football player. The average height of a NBA basketball player is about 6’6”, the average height of a NFL player is about 6’2”.
- Tony Gonzales (HOF)
- Antonio Gates (HOF)
- Julius Peppers (HOF)
- Terrell Owens (HOF)
- Jimmy Graham
- Antwaan Randle El
- Julius Thomas
- Connor Barwin
- Martellus Bennett
- Vincent Jackson (RIP)
- Donnovan McNabb
Tony G. was my teammate in Atlanta and he was an absolute matchup problem. Tony actually participated in NBA summer league with the Miami Heat back in 2002. So this dude was legit.
There are four football players who are in the NFL Hall of Fame that actually played basketball in college. Antonio Gates is the only one on this list who played strictly basketball in college and then went on to be an NFL tight end. His career began at Michigan State where he wanted to play both football and basketball but Nick Saban only allowed him to play football. From there he transferred to different schools before landing at Kent State.
Come on now, what are we talking about football players can’t hoop. Gates took Kent State deep into the NCAA tournament for one of their best tournament runs in school history while averaging 20 points during the season.
Below are the hoopers who actually competed at the college level in both football and basketball. This list is very short. I’m not digging through all the archives on every player that has college experience on both fields of play. By all means, you can get started on that project if you would like to though and report back to me. I decided to leave off Draymond Green since he couldn’t even… never mind just click the hyperlink above and see.
All these players were outstanding talents, especially Charlie Ward. A dual sport athlete that won college football’s most coveted prize, The Heisman, while leading his team at quarterback. The most surprising on the list was Pat Riley who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round but was also drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft out of Kentucky.
- Charlie Ward (Heisman winner)
- Nate Robinson
- Darrell Armstrong
- Pat Riley (HOF)
Below are notable players where you can view their highlights and see that they were beasts in high school. A few received all state honors in football and had scholarship offers to play as well but they either chose to compete in college on the basketball court or skipped college and went straight to the NBA (a la LeBron James). Allen Iverson’s highlights are definitely Breathtaking.
- Allen Iverson (HOF)
- LeBron James
- Jason Williams (Randy Moss’ high school QB)
- Matt Barnes
One of the best players in the game right now is Anthony Edwards. You can examine his 6’5” build, his speed and quickness off the dribble and say that he would be a great selection to play in the NFL. But even Ant Man skipped out on football in high school to focus on basketball. You would have to search far back into his little league highlight tapes to get a glimpse of him.
If Ant Man continued playing football, at 6’5” he would most likely play defensive end/linebacker, tight end, or receiver. Examining how electric he is, you would want to make sure you can get the ball into his hands often so he can put points on the board.
Haters
As this feud continues, one thing I really disliked was the hateration, holleration, in this dancery (shout out Mary J.). I often came across people downing players that played both sports. There were people talking about Julius Peppers only averaging 7.1 points in college. I think it’s funny that people would talk bad about you because you weren’t all world all galaxy. Rather than pointing to the fact that you were a two sport athlete in college who juggled two different sport seasons. For those that don’t know, it’s hard enough playing one sport through college let alone even thinking about playing two.
The 7.1 points that Julius Peppers averaged in college at THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA is a lot more than the average people who are making this argument scored in college I’m pretty sure. And that’s being polite giving them the benefit of a doubt that they even played anything in college. How pompous of a statement to make. He played on a great team in college that went 26-7 and made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
What people also fail to realize is that he was a two-time All American standing at 6’7” 295 pounds. He was key to the evolution of a defensive end by his jaw dropping athleticism and abilities.
The argument was also made that Antonio Gates didn’t even play football in college and was able to make it to the NFL so it can’t be that hard. This is also a person that had great size and athleticism. We’re not talking about just some slappy here. This was an athlete that signed to go to Michigan State for both football and basketball until coach Nick Saban told him he wouldn’t be able to do both. So he transferred to where he could compete in basketball.
Wrap It Up B!
More so than anything, I think the majority of debates that I’ve heard over the last week were more from the lens of “why you can’t play my sport” opposed to “how I could play your sport.” This leads to a whole bunch of bashing and pointing out the weaknesses of the other sport rather than its strengths.
I would like to stand on business and state that I think basketball helped football players tremendously because basketball deals with creating separation. Whether that means getting your shot off or getting to the basket. The successful NFL players mentioned above played an advantageous position (TE/WR) where this is key in combination with their size and athleticism.
Much love to all my hoopers and football players who play/played at any level. The sport you choose to compete in isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. Both have their complexities along with their pros and cons. Follow your heart in pursing the sport that is best for you and be able to hang your hat on whatever the outcome may be.
STAY HEALTHY
DOUBLE DEE
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