A debate recently has been floating around social media regarding whether NBA players would make the NFL or if NFL players would make the NBA. While each league is full of some of the top athletes in the world, there is no consensus on which athletes would fare better in the other league.
NFL safety Anthony Harris, who has played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Minnesota Vikings, spoke with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio Podcast and shared his thoughts on whether one particular NBA player could play in the NFL as a tight end, LeBron James.
”I’ve heard that one!” Harris said. “He STILL has a ton of athletic ability; his IQ for the game of basketball is amazing so I can only imagine when it just comes to awareness, knowing where everybody is — if you give him some time in the meeting rooms he’ll be able to understand defenses and to be able to understand the leverage and the positioning aspects; and I think that he would be able to transition to football.”
The Lakers’ star is of course one of the greatest of all time in the NBA and definitely could pose a physical presence on the football field. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward would be one of the tallest tight ends in the game and would have an enormous height advantage over NFL defensive backs and linebackers.
His 40-yard dash time would likely not be in the same range as the best DBs in the NFL, so he would have to rely on the height advantage.
As Harris also pointed out, one of James’ strengths would be his ability to learn schemes and his intelligence when it comes to sports. If James’ was trained in football or had the time to learn all the schemes, he could definitely be an interesting prospect.
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