The NBA-to-NFL debate never dies because the receipts keep surfacing. Allen Iverson’s high-school quarterback tape still blows up timelines, and for good reason; he starred under center at Bethel High in Virginia. NFL-NBA crossover talk also lives inside the locker rooms and on podcasts. DeSean Jackson stirred the pot when he suggested he could hoop at an NBA level after seeing Jeff Teague, which led to plenty of pushback, including from Teague himself on Club 520. Jayson Tatum added real nuance on New Heights, saying a handful of NBA guys could impact the NFL with time to train, but you cannot just “drop” an NBA player into a Sunday game and expect results, per SI. The reverse, he argued, looks even tougher.

One more update shapes this thought experiment. The Travis Hunter archetype is no longer theoretical. Jacksonville drafted him No. 2 overall in 2025, and the league is actively testing whether a true two-way star can thrive every week.

The headliners: LeBron James and Zion Williamson

LeBron James flips the conversation from “what if” to “how would you guard him.” At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, he checks every tight end box. He high-points like a receiver, moves like a jumbo slot, and steamrolls smaller defenders in space. Line him up at the Y, flex him out, motion him across the formation, then let him win on seams, posts, and back-shoulder fades. With a full offseason of blocking reps, he becomes a mismatch machine in the red area.

Zion Williamson brings a different kind of nightmare. Picture Aaron Donald’s leverage and explosion, then drop that motor into a 6-foot-6, 280-pound frame that already bullies NBA bigs. As a 3-tech, he fires off the snap, splits doubles, and caves the pocket before quarterbacks finish their drop. Give him a short-yardage tight end package and he trucks defenders on flats and goal-line slants. Coaches could build a run-blitz menu around his get-off alone. If he stays conditioned, he tilts the line of scrimmage on snap one and snap sixty.

Explosive playmakers: Anthony Edwards and Ja Morant

Anthony Edwards looks built for Sundays. He owns that 6-4, 225 sweet spot for an outside receiver, then plays angrier than most wideouts. Stack releases, violent hands, crisp posts and digs, and the play strength to win through contact, Ant would punish off coverage and force corners to decide between press and prayer. On third-and-seven, he becomes a quarterback’s best friend. On deep shots, he becomes a safety’s problem.

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Ja Morant mirrors the Travis Hunter template. He blurs the screen with his burst, flips his hips like a corner, and elevates like a return ace. On defense, you can see him living at nickel, baiting quarterbacks, and jumping option routes. On offense, he cooks as a slot, motioned into stacks and bunches for free releases, then turns five yards into fifty. With Hunter now in Jacksonville and the two-way conversation happening in real time, Ja’s profile, high twitch and short-area burst, makes the comp feel less like fantasy and more like a blueprint. Critics already question whether any pro can play both sides weekly, which only raises the stakes for a Ja-as-Hunter experiment.

The grinder: Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Butler gives a defense its heartbeat. At linebacker, he diagnoses, communicates, and hits. You trust him to set edges, carry tight ends up the seam, and meet running backs square in the hole. He embraces pain and hunts mismatches, the exact mentality you need when the offense drags you through motion and misdirection. Locker rooms feed off that energy. Coordinators build plans around that brain. When the weather turns ugly and the game shrinks to a street fight, Butler lives for the next collision.

The final picture

Roll out a five-man crossover unit and you get a legit skeleton of an NFL team. LeBron anchors the pass game as a terror at tight end. Zion detonates the pocket as an interior rusher and moonlights as a short-yardage bully. Anthony Edwards stretches the field and punishes press. Ja Morant toggles between nickel corner, slot receiver, and return specialist, a Travis Hunter-style weapon in motion for four quarters. Jimmy Butler cleans up the mess and sets the tone from the second level.

This idea always lives beyond box scores. Tatum is right, nobody drops into an NFL huddle without real work. SI But give elite NBA athletes time, coaching, and purpose, and a handful could absolutely make noise on Sundays. The fun sits in the details, the leverage battles, the hands at the catch point, the footwork in a phone booth. That is where this five stands out. They compete with an edge, they process quickly, and they love contact. In the NFL, that combination travels.