Caron Butler says Tony Romo had what it takes to play professional basketball

The Dallas Mavericks found a way to honor one of the best athletes in their city, when they announced that Tony Romo will suit up for the team for a day.

Although he will only stay on the bench, it's still a classy gesture from the organization as they acknowledged what he has done for the Dallas Cowboys during his playing days in the NFL. However, according to former NBA player Caron Butler, he revealed, via Todd Archer and Marc Stein of ESPN, that Romo possesses serious basketball skills as well, since he saw him play first-hand back in high school in Wisconsin. He even went as far as claiming Romo could've played professional basketball.

“Believe it or not, man, when we were in the prime of our careers, I used to always talk about it: [Romo] could have easily been a professional basketball player, and a lot of people were like, ‘Man, you’re crazy for saying that,’ but Tony could shoot. He could handle the ball. He had a knack for scoring, man, he really did.”

“He was a really good football player, obviously, being a quarterback. He was great at golf. And he was really good at basketball. Obviously it worked out for him with the football, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he would have made it playing basketball. He had a great feel for the game, man. And it’s not surprising. Golf is a cerebral game; you gotta have that mental component to conquer the course. And then football’s the same thing; you gotta be able to think on the fly and do all these things. And then basketball, I thought, all those components worked together.”

Romo is a legend in Dallas and played all his 14 professional seasons with the Cowboys. He was named to the Pro-Bowl four-times and a former passer rating leader in 2014. He decided to hang his sneakers for good at the end of last season and is widely regarded as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play.

The Mavs will be in action on Tuesday night when they host the Denver Nuggets. Given his stature and popularity, it can be expected that the home crowd will give Romo a huge reception once he enters the arena with the team.