Austin Rivers on NBA vs NFL players

[life_saver]

I agree with Rivers..Its also funny to see some NFL players on twitter trying to take a shot at Austin Rivers without any actual argument. I have seen instances of players playing a new position in college for 1-2 years and then getting drafted...unless you are a giant 7foot+ guy, this doesn't happen in NBA. You need lot more skill to play in NBA, especially for a NFL sized guy

[Lockdown504090]

Depends on the position. dLine or OLine NBA players would have no chance. You may have some TE candidates and some WR candidates. I don't think there would be many SS or FS candidates as those would be hard hitters. CB and special teams I would think would be the most translatable positions for NBA players.

nba players are running miles, and theyre doing it every other night for 8 monts. if zion was a lineman, jesus christ what he would do would be illegal.

Zion is probably too tall and too light to be an obvious impact player at most line positions. Leverage is a big deal playing line and being tall isn’t really the advantage people think. I suppose it wouldn’t be hard for him to bulk up and play OT but that’s also not a position one simply walks into and finds success. NFL pass rushers would eat him alive. Height in general is where it gets weird for NBA players as most PGs would be among the tallest players in the NFL. PG, SG, WR, DB, maybe LB is where most of the potential crossover would be.

im talking as a defensive end edge rushing the qb. Some of them are quite tall and it is an advantage they use since its harder not to hold them. Z has all time first step and change of direction. he would be very good

[CS707]

nba players are running miles, and theyre doing it every other night for 8 monts. if zion was a lineman, jesus christ what he would do would be illegal.

Zion is probably too tall and too light to be an obvious impact player at most line positions. Leverage is a big deal playing line and being tall isn’t really the advantage people think. I suppose it wouldn’t be hard for him to bulk up and play OT but that’s also not a position one simply walks into and finds success. NFL pass rushers would eat him alive. Height in general is where it gets weird for NBA players as most PGs would be among the tallest players in the NFL. PG, SG, WR, DB, maybe LB is where most of the potential crossover would be.

im talking as a defensive end edge rushing the qb. Some of them are quite tall and it is an advantage they use since its harder not to hold them. Z has all time first step and change of direction. he would be very good

Most edge rushers are in the 260-ish range now but there still guys like JJ Watt so maybe. I think you’d be surprised at how athletic the NFL edge rushers are though. It’s not just first step but bend and fluidity. Then there’s the durability issue too. But yeah, I guess it’s not as far fetched as maybe I thought. I actually think LeBron would have made a killer DE.

[Michael Jackson]

Somewhere Charlie Ward is wondering why he said this.

[Special_Puppy]

Barrier to entry is higher in the NBA than NFL. Way less roster slots and actually has international competition. NBA also requires you to be much more of a genetic outlier than the NFL (which is why having a father who was a NBA player is way more predictive of success than having a father in the NFL) . I can talk myself into someone like Anthony Edwards or LeBron James making the NFL if they chose the sport instead of basketball, but its hard to see the reverse.

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[Heat3]

Zion is probably too tall and too light to be an obvious impact player at most line positions. Leverage is a big deal playing line and being tall isn’t really the advantage people think. I suppose it wouldn’t be hard for him to bulk up and play OT but that’s also not a position one simply walks into and finds success. NFL pass rushers would eat him alive. Height in general is where it gets weird for NBA players as most PGs would be among the tallest players in the NFL. PG, SG, WR, DB, maybe LB is where most of the potential crossover would be.

im talking as a defensive end edge rushing the qb. Some of them are quite tall and it is an advantage they use since its harder not to hold them. Z has all time first step and change of direction. he would be very good

Most edge rushers are in the 260-ish range now but there still guys like JJ Watt so maybe. I think you’d be surprised at how athletic the NFL edge rushers are though. It’s not just first step but bend and fluidity. Then there’s the durability issue too. But yeah, I guess it’s not as far fetched as maybe I thought. I actually think LeBron would have made a killer DE.

I don't think basketball players have a chance on defense. Brock Lesnar would have been sent to NFL europe when he tried out with the Vikings. His skills were probably more in line with what you would need for a defensive lineman.

[LuckyLeprechaun]

NBA players could probably do well as WRs/TEs and possibly DBs/LBs if they've got the dog in them to tackle. Most don't have the physical build to play on the lines. There probably isn't a single NBA player who could be a starting-level QB.

[FrodoFraggins]

What Austin is saying is that the transition would be easier.

A lot of the NBA players could be TEs or endzone WRs just due to their leaping ability and height and size. The athleticism is already there, but teaching the techniques would take time.

They definitely translate best as TE's and yeah endzone WR's.

People are underestimating what's required to get game time as a starting WR/CB in the NFL.

[dockingsched]

No doubt that anyone good enough to play in both the nfl and nba probably chose the nba. More money, longer career, less wear and tear.

[ConstableChaos]

Probably a bit different - in Australia there is a fair bit of co-existence between Aussie rules players and pro bball players. Aussie rules players are mostly built like power forwards and are more than capable as defender/rebounder/hustler guys.

[FarBeyondDriven]

lol of course realgm is dead wrong about this. NBA players are soft. No chance they could play any position except TE,WR and maybe free safety. So many defensive backs and running backs could play guard in the NBA. So many TE, LB and DE could be wings in the NBA. So many LT could be big men in the NBA

If tomorrow you took the 15 best basketball players out of all NFL players and formed an NBA team and you took the 22 best football players out of all NBA teams, the NFL players playing basketball would do WAY better in an NBA game than the NBA players playing in the NFL playing an NFL game could do. There's so many levels to playing in the NFL preventing a seamless transition unlike basketball which is very simple.

Neither side is doing well, let's be clear. But the NFL players would be able to actually score and get occasional stops. Not a lot. But at least some. The NBA players would literally do nothing to stop when on defense and they wouldn't be able to move the ball at all. NFL would easily, and I mean easily, have a much easier time of it.

[Pelon chingon]

Not one of them could play soccer.

[lambchop]

You can put 30 NBA players in the NFL right now AND you could put 30 NFL players in the NBA right now. I mean they're all going to suck and not get minutes, but you could.

This. If Thanasis can play in the NBA, there are definitely 150 NFL players that could do the same.

[Lockdown504090]

im talking as a defensive end edge rushing the qb. Some of them are quite tall and it is an advantage they use since its harder not to hold them. Z has all time first step and change of direction. he would be very good

Most edge rushers are in the 260-ish range now but there still guys like JJ Watt so maybe. I think you’d be surprised at how athletic the NFL edge rushers are though. It’s not just first step but bend and fluidity. Then there’s the durability issue too. But yeah, I guess it’s not as far fetched as maybe I thought. I actually think LeBron would have made a killer DE.

I don't think basketball players have a chance on defense. Brock Lesnar would have been sent to NFL europe when he tried out with the Vikings. His skills were probably more in line with what you would need for a defensive lineman.

Ur talking about Brock lesnar without PEDs. He doesn’t belong in this discussion and Zion is wayyyy more athletic than him

[moderndarwin]

To make this fun we should be using primes

Lebron
Jordan
KawhI
Zion
Shaq
Joker as Qb
etc

yeah nba players can do it

[LaLover11]

NBA players could probably do well as WRs/TEs and possibly DBs/LBs if they've got the dog in them to tackle. Most don't have the physical build to play on the lines. There probably isn't a single NBA player who could be a starting-level QB.

I could see Austin Reaves being a starting QB in a bad team in the NFL. Of course if he was trained and studied the game for a season or 2

He's High IQ, Athletic, Tough, Young and hustled his way to become a starting player for the biggest NBA team in the NBA being undrafted

[Chokic]

NBA players could probably do well as WRs/TEs and possibly DBs/LBs if they've got the dog in them to tackle. Most don't have the physical build to play on the lines. There probably isn't a single NBA player who could be a starting-level QB.

Zach wilson was a starting level qb. There are some nba players had they chose the route of playing football early on could play as a starting caliber qb. E.g jalen brunson tyrese haliburton rajon rondo chris paul demar derozan.

[dhsilv2]

I mean...there are WAY more NFL players. So that alone would lend it that the barrier to entry is a bit lower.

On the other hand, the likelihood is a lot better that a few of them could hoop than it is that nearly 10% of NBA players could make an NFL roster.

So that would make sense in a numbers game. However, there seems to be more interest to be a hooper than NFL player. Maybe the lower chances of brain damage or something. So I somewhat reject that the NFL has guys who could have done both and chose the NFL. But with about 600 guys getting into an NBA game any given season. The idea a bit over 5% could make the NFL is certainly pretty unlikely.

[dhsilv2]

Most edge rushers are in the 260-ish range now but there still guys like JJ Watt so maybe. I think you’d be surprised at how athletic the NFL edge rushers are though. It’s not just first step but bend and fluidity. Then there’s the durability issue too. But yeah, I guess it’s not as far fetched as maybe I thought. I actually think LeBron would have made a killer DE.

I don't think basketball players have a chance on defense. Brock Lesnar would have been sent to NFL europe when he tried out with the Vikings. His skills were probably more in line with what you would need for a defensive lineman.

Ur talking about Brock lesnar without PEDs. He doesn’t belong in this discussion and Zion is wayyyy more athletic than him

Lesnar hasn't been without PED's as an adult...come on man.

[dhsilv2]

Barrier to entry is higher in the NBA than NFL. Way less roster slots and actually has international competition. NBA also requires you to be much more of a genetic outlier than the NFL (which is why having a father who was a NBA player is way more predictive of success than having a father in the NFL) . I can talk myself into someone like Anthony Edwards or LeBron James making the NFL if they chose the sport instead of basketball, but its hard to see the reverse.

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wait...what does a reality tv star father pass on to their son? Bad life decisions? An disorder requiring constant attention for bad things?