There has been a debate in the sports world recently about NBA players being able to play in the NFL. Austin Rivers started the debate by saying there are 30 players in the NBA that could go play in the NFL. That remark sparked a lot of controversy, and it is still going. However, Anthony Edwards ended that debate for Travis Kelce on Tuesday night. Edwards had a huge game for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and now Kelce thinks that he could play in the NBA.
Anthony Edwards stepped up big time in game four of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night. The Dallas Mavericks came into the game with a 3-0 series lead, and they were one win away from making it to the NBA Finals. Edwards led all scorers with 29 points, and he convinced Travis Kelce that he could play in the NFL with one of his dunks.
“When he rose up and had that dunk in I think it was the 3 rd quarter, oh my f**king gosh, I haven’t seen athleticism like that,” Kelce said on New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce. “The NBA, NFL debate, put that guy on a football field, oh my f**king gosh, yeah, it wouldn’t be fair. That dude f**king took off, from what felt like 12-15 feet away from the rim, and was still elevating when he dunked the ball. It was unbelievable man.”
Edwards did play football growing up, and he played quarterback. He didn't move like a quarterback, however. His athleticism is certainly off the charts.
Austin Rivers' original argument
Austin Rivers started this debate, and after it sparked some controversy, he ended up doubling down on his take and standing by it. After watching Anthony Edwards, Travis Kelce is now on Rivers' side.
“I still stand by what I said,” Rivers said during an episode of Off Guard with Austin Rivers. “Now is it 30? no, it could be 20, it could be 10, I don’t know, all I know is I could get you a handful of them.”
If you make it to the NBA, you clearly are extremely athletic. Rivers believes that with the right training, players can make it in the NFL.
“You give these guys six, seven months, if I give Aaron Gordon seven months, instead of going to a gym everyday for hours, he’s out there working on footwork and running routes to just go catch a ball, and when I say go catch a ball, I don’t mean it’s that easy, because I understand those guys have special hands,” Rivers continued. “I’m just saying we also catch a ball for a living, it’s not a football granted, so I understand there’s a difference there, but most of us grew up playing football. As a boy it’s just like in your DNA to go play catch with your dad, catch the f**king ball man.”
One thing that is crucial in both the NFL and the NBA is having good hands. That is an important part of Rivers' argument.
“I understand there’s levels of hands, again I get all these guys, I understand why people are offended but at the same time I still stand by what I said because there are guys in our league who have great hands,” Rivers added. “And they're tall and athletic, way taller than NFL players bro. Megatron [Calvin Johnson] was unbelievable as a football player, yes because he had great hands, but because he was bigger than everybody else. That’s why they call him Megatron, they used to throw it up and he’d jump up and get it. Gronk, he’s a good football player obviously, I’m naming legends here right. These guys were big guys man, at their position. The best tight ends ever were players who came from college basketball man, point blank period.”
Now, Rivers has an NFL player on his side of the argument. Anthony Edwards convinced Travis Kelce.
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