Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has all the confidence in the world when he steps onto a basketball court, but he admits he won’t be able to cut it on the football field. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Gilgeous-Alexander made it clear he could never play in the NFL.
“No chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “… I wouldn’t disrespect them like that, nah… Just like how they can’t come on the basketball court, I can’t go on the football field.”
Gilgeous-Alexander thinks it would be better if everyone just stayed in their lanes. The 27-year-old revealed he did play football a little bit growing up, but decided to quit very quickly.
“I played running back, so I got hit a lot,” Gilgeous-Alexander stated. “And I fell on the ball when I got tackled a couple of times… And I got the wind knocked out of me.”
Sticking to basketball certainly has worked out for Gilgeous-Alexander. He has established himself as one of the best players in the NBA, and 2025 has belonged to him.
Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA MVP after averaging 32.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 2024-25. The three-time All-Star then proceeded to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to the championship and won Finals MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP in the process.
Despite all this success, Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t getting carried away to the point that he thinks he could play another sport at the highest level. He doesn’t believe NBA and NFL players would be able to play the other sport.
That opinion is shared by Houston Rockets star Amen Thompson as well. Thompson commented on this transition debate on The Young Man and the Three podcast.
“I think it’s be impossible for either, honestly,” Thompson said. “I don’t think there’s anybody in the NBA that could go play in the NFL right now.”
His twin brother and Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson didn’t necessarily agree, though. He brought up former Phoenix Suns player Ish Wainright as an example.
Wainright had joined the Buffalo Bulls as an undrafted free agent in 2018, but he didn’t make the final roster. With that being the case, his example doesn’t really prove that NBA players could make the transition to the NFL. Ausar isn’t the only one to think along these lines, though.
New York Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson believes it is easier for an NBA player to play in the NFL than the other way around. Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan, meanwhile, thinks NBA players can do anything if given two or three months to prepare for it. He boldly stated in 2024 that 20 NBA players could play in the NFL.
