Austin Rivers, an NBA free agent and son of Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, made waves this week when he claimed that 30 NBA players could immediately play in the NFL, but not the other way around.
“I can take 30 players right now from the NBA and throw them in the NFL,” Rivers said. “You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA.”
Plenty of people delivered rebuttals to that ridiculous take, including future Pro Football Hall of Fame defender J.J. Watt. Part of me understands his take, but is he not accounting for the softness of today’s coddled NBA stars? There is no “load management” in the NFL.
Plus, do people really think Justin Jefferson couldn’t play in the NBA if he practiced basketball instead of football? Most star NFL players were also star basketball players in high school, but football requires an athlete’s full attention.
But in a funny twist of fate, former NFL wide receiver Devin Funchess, who switched to tight end to prolong his football career, has just signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Caribbean Storm Llaneros of the Professional Colombia Basketball league.
Of course, that’s not the NBA. Understood. But we also have to keep in mind that Funchess wasn’t a star in the NFL (he had under 2,500 receiving yards in the league for his career), and he’s almost 30 years old now.
A day after Austin Rivers said NFL players can't play in the NBA, former NFL wide receiver Devin Funchess signed a professional basketball contract.
(Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
So do players like Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, or so many others really think they can't play a role on an NBA team if they choose to switch to basketball?
And can we really trust that an NBA player who falls to the floor like he's been shot at the first sign of contact can withstand the beatings he'll take while playing football at the highest level?
Maybe some people can do it. But many NFL players could do the same in the NBA.
