Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Anthony Edwards is embracing his role as the primary option on a contending team this season, but he may not spend the entirety of his athletic prime in the NBA, expressing on the Open Thoughts show that he could try his hand at becoming the first athlete to play in the NBA and NFL when host Marco Summers asked him about his love for football.
(Starts at 5:39)
“I think I might be the first one. I will try. First, I gotta handle my business in the NBA. As a team, the Minnesota organization, we want to win a championship. After that, we’ll figure it out.”
One of the biggest concerns with Edwards around the 2020 NBA Draft was his love for basketball because he made comments in an interview about his passion for baseball as well. Edwards is just a supreme athlete who could have probably picked the sport he wanted to excel at.
He chose basketball and was rewarded by being the No. 1 overall pick of his class and one of the brightest prospects in the NBA, someone who has been compared to Michael Jordan due to his ability. If he can lead the Wolves to a title early in his stint with the franchise and feel comfortable enough to make a move to the NFL, it’ll be unprecedented.
For a person who’s compared to Jordan, it would be ironic if Edwards left the NBA in his prime to become a dual-sport athlete and try his hand at the NFL. Winning a championship is a lofty goal in Minnesota but they are currently the No. 1 seed in the West and are potential dark-horse contenders for the Finals.
LeBron James Could’ve Played In The NFL In 2011
The closest we’ve seen an NBA player come to playing in the NFL was in 2011 during the NBA lockout. As NBA players waited to see if a season would go underway, LeBron James had offers from two NFL franchises to switch sports and join them, as he himself revealed.
“That’s true. Jerry Jones offered me a contract, also Pete Carroll did as well in Seattle, during our lockout time. It definitely got my blood flowing again, it got my mind racing again thinking about the game of football, being out there on Sunday. You know, we was able to get a deal done in the NBA, and I was back on the court in no time. But I definitely thought about it. I still got the jersey too, that Jerry and Pete Carroll sent me from 2011.”
Thankfully, the NBA decided to resume in December and James would go on to win his first NBA Championship that season. He added three more titles and established himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, if not the greatest. He’s definitely happy with his decision. But will Anthony Edwards be happy with the same decision? We’ll have to wait and find out.
Another notable NBA player who could’ve pursued a career in the NFL is Allen Iverson, who was the No. 1 ranked athlete in both football and basketball in high school. He chose basketball and became one of the most culturally influential players of all time.
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