“Really Close to Playing for the Atlanta Hawks!”: Deion Sanders Once Expressed Regret Over Not Teaming Up with Dominique Wilkins

Deion Sanders might now be a successful college football coach. But back in the ’80s, he was one of the only American players to play multiple sports simultaneously. As incredible as it sounds, Sanders has played in the NFL and the MLB throughout most of his career. However, the college football coach revealed during a 2016 interview, that he was on the verge of playing in the NBA as well.

Sanders has played for two Atlanta-based franchises, the Falcons in the NFL and the Braves in the MLB. However, he had an interesting opportunity to play for the NBA’s ATL franchise, the Atlanta Hawks, teaming up with the great Dominique Wilkins.

At the time Deion Sanders was playing for the MLB side, the Atlanta Braves. The General Manager for both the Hawks and the Braves was Stan Kasten, who had proposed to Sanders the idea of making one debut appearance in the NBA.

Revealing this opportunity to Sports Illustrated, Deion Sanders revealed seven years ago,

“I was really close to playing for the Atlanta Hawks for one game. When I was with the Braves, I don’t recall the year, Stan Kasten was the general manager of both teams, the Braves, as well as the Hawks. And he was gonna allow me to play NBA games, so that I could play three professional sports.” 

Sanders even had his game plan ready on how he’d survive in the NBA. “I convinced them that I could get ten points, I was gonna get two steals, alright? And I could make the layup so that’s four. I was gonna get to the free-throw line, because I’m aggressive, hit one out of two three free-throws, that helped me get both up.”

“I was like, hit the bucket okay? So I got step and just by being at the right place in the right time, I was gonna get another two. Now I just got to pray for one more point,” he added, during the interview with SI.

Sanders had all the opportunity to team up alongside NBA Slam Dunk champion Dominique Wilkins. His meticulous planning to score 10 points in an NBA game could have really made history. However, things didn’t fall in place as they were supposed to. And Sanders’ voice still couldn’t hide the regret of the missed opportunity.

Playing in two major sporting leagues simultaneously sounds like a fairy tale. However, playing in three major leagues at once would really have been a surreal phenomenon.

Sanders got flowers from LeBron James after his team won 2nd game this season

Just like Sanders, LeBron James also had an opportunity to be an NFL star. However, instead of choosing to be a multi-sport athlete, James decided to restrict his talents to basketball. But that doesn’t mean his love for football ever diminished. Bron stays updated with all the happenings in NFL and college football, and ardently follows the games every season.

PRIME TIME!!!!! 2-0

— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 9, 2023

As the college football season began this year, Deion Sanders’ team, the Colorado Buffaloes, soon went up to a 2-0 record. James gave his flowers to coach Sanders, acknowledging his ability to be a ‘Prime Time’ coach. Indeed, this speaks volumes of Deion Sanders’ success, being a 2x Super Bowl champion as a player and a 2x SWAC champion as a coach.