{"id":103188,"date":"2024-11-17T11:04:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T16:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=103188"},"modified":"2024-11-17T11:04:26","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T16:04:26","slug":"5-nfl-stars-nba-counterparts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/17\/5-nfl-stars-nba-counterparts\/","title":{"rendered":"5 NFL Stars And Their NBA Counterparts"},"content":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, professional athletes usually love their jobs. They\u2019re getting paid handsomely to perform in <\/span>a sport that they would probably play for free. However, there are always NBA players with NFL dreams and vice-versa. Fans are bound to find a basketball or football star who is genuinely interested in watching or playing another sport.<\/span><\/p>\n

The common question is which of those players would\u2019ve actually been successful in the other sport. Some even have pondered the possibility of there being a full-time dual-sport athlete in the future. Who else has wondered which NBA and NFL stars match each other most closely?<\/span><\/p>\n

5 NFL Stars And Their NBA Counterparts<\/h2>\n

Aaron Rodgers \u2014 Nikola Jokic<\/span><\/h3>\n

Like New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers<\/a>, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic<\/a> is a passing savant who didn\u2019t make a lot of noise early in his career but has had a rapid rise to the top.<\/p>\n

Both Rodgers and Jokic have only been able to win one title, but it\u2019s in an era in which there may be more talent than ever. There are certainly differences between the two as people, with Rodgers being an outspoken conspiracy theorist and Jokic being a gentle giant who just wants to get home to his family and horses. However, in terms of their career arcs and skills, there\u2019s a remarkable similarity. Interestingly, while Rodgers is a four-time league MVP, Jokic is getting a head start on what would be his fourth NBA MVP Award.<\/p>\n

Lamar Jackson \u2014 LeBron James<\/span><\/h3>\n

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James<\/a> entered the NBA with more hype than Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson<\/a> entered the NFL with. However, both got off to hot starts. Jackson has already won two MVP awards at the age of 27. By the time he was 27, James had won two as well and was on his way to a third. Their success isn\u2019t the only thing that makes them great foils for each other though. To this point, Jackson has yet to win a championship, which he\u2019s been criticized for. James was in the same position eight years into his career.<\/p>\n

In terms of their skillset, Jackson is widely considered to be the best dual-threat quarterback ever. James is might have the best combination of athleticism and passing ability in NBA history.<\/p>\n

Patrick Mahomes \u2014 Stephen Curry<\/span><\/h3>\n

In keeping with the theme of matching career arcs, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a> spent his first NFL season as the backup to Alex Smith<\/a>. Similarly, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry<\/a>\u00a0played second fiddle to Monta Ellis<\/a> early in his career. Once both Mahomes and Curry were made to be the focal points, their teams didn\u2019t just get better, they started winning rings<\/a>. The way<\/em> they won made it all the better, as they delivered highlight after highlight while displaying unique gifts.<\/p>\n

Now they both represent a New Age golden standard for players at their position.<\/p>\n

Travis Hunter \u2014 Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/span><\/h3>\n

Colorado cornerback\/wide receiver Travis Hunter<\/a> and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> are so rare that they\u2019re the only players that match for each other. Though they\u2019re not flawless, there\u2019s hardly anything they can\u2019t do in their respective sport.<\/p>\n

Of course, Hunter isn\u2019t in the NFL yet but that should change in the next few months. The favorite to win the next Heisman Trophy<\/a>, Hunter\u2019s long been an elite two-way player. Antetokounmpo is already a professional and quite an accomplished one<\/a> at that. However, he\u2019s also the best two-way player in the NBA, enforcing his will at both ends. Outside the lines, both Hunter and Antetokounmpo are nice guys and family men. It\u2019s a wonder how so many people find a way to dislike them.<\/p>\n

Justin Jefferson \u2014 Anthony Edwards<\/span><\/h3>\n

Minnesota Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson<\/a> and Minnesota Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards<\/a> both have a knack for making the seemingly impossible look as easy as a Sunday morning, making them two of the most exciting watches in sports. Though both players were elite prospects leaving college, it\u2019s probably fair to say that few thought they would be this good. Now, they\u2019re both tasked with leading a team to their first championship in franchise history<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A recent ESPN feature delved into the two\u2019s personal relationship<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By all accounts, professional athletes usually love their jobs. They\u2019re getting paid handsomely to perform in a sport that they would probably play for free. However, there are always NBA players with NFL dreams and vice-versa. Fans are bound to find a basketball or football star who is genuinely interested in watching or playing another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":107464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,20,25,26,15,21],"tags":[2109,306,38,49627,72,48],"class_list":["post-103188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-warriors","category-lakers","category-bucks","category-timberwolves","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-lebron-james","tag-nfl","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-stephen-curry"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}