Former Los Angeles Clippers star Austin Rivers stirred a riveting debate between NBA and NFL athletes. It commenced during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show after the host jokingly said that NBA players were ‘soft.’ Rivers snapped back and boldly claimed that there were 30 active basketball players who could easily crossover to the NFL, but no professional football player could play in the NBA.
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They continued to butt heads and defend their respective sport before the podcast host conceded that NBA players could crossover to the NFL. However, he added that it wasn’t because basketball players were superior athletes, but because NFL coaches were smarter than their NBA counterparts. He said,
“Our sport’s better because we would just create a position for one of you 5.2-running, 6-foot-10 guys… We would just create a position because we have big brains in our sport. That’s what we would do.”
While McAfee may have felt great about rebutting Rivers’ point by claiming the NFL has smarter coaches, Gilbert Arenas claimed he accidentally proved that the former Clippers star was spot on. On the latest episode of the Gil’s Arena podcast, he explained,
“What’s funny is Pat McAfee proved his (Austin Rivers’) point. He proved his point when he said we could take basketball players and create a position for them. So you can just take us because we’re so athletic and gifted that you can make a position for us, and we can succeed. So you kinda proved his point. We can’t take [NFL players] and put you in the sport and you can be dominant at it. Got to be able to dribble, jump, like you have to be able to play the sport.”
Arenas’ assessment is accurate. Unlike the NFL, where each player on the field has one specific role, whether they play offense or defense, basketball players have to contribute on both ends of the floor and have to excel at several roles.
An NFL wide receiver doesn’t have to worry about protecting their quarterback from pass rushers and can focus solely on running routes and making catches. However, an NBA point guard has to orchestrate his team’s offense, excel at scoring, and even guard their counterpart on the opposition team. McAfee’s attempt to prove that NFL coaches were smarter accidentally corroborated Rivers’ claim that NBA players can play professional football, but the inverse isn’t possible.
Austin Rivers becomes social media villain after bold claim about NBA players crossing over to NFL
Austin Rivers’ spicy take on the Pat McAfee Show went viral on social media and caused a stir. Retired NFL star and future Hall of Famer JJ Watt took exception to the former Clippers star’s comment and made a snide comment on X, formerly Twitter.
You don’t got a job in either right now, go head and try it… https://t.co/9C5Y4oZyXZ
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 7, 2024
Rivers came up with a measured response to Watt’s comment, prompting the NFL star to admit he was wrong and apologize.
I’m gonna be 100% honest, I did something I hate when people do to me…
I commented on the headline without watching the video for context.
I thought you were saying you could play in the NFL, so I came in hot wanting you to prove it.
I’ll own that and apologize, that’s on me.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) May 7, 2024
Rivers has been fending off criticism from former NFL players and analysts for his take on his own and would’ve hoped he’d get some support from the NBA world. However, Charles Barkley did the opposite. On Inside the NBA, the Hall of Famer advised the former Clippers star to put down his tools, saying,
“Austin Rivers, you know I love you, we can’t play football. You’re doing a great job, but to say that we’ve got 30-40 NBA players who could go play in the NFL… Football is a grown-man sport. We’re soft.”
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1788409283580694887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Barkley’s view is seemingly the consensus among NBA stars, as none have come out and backed Rivers’ claim. He can continue waging this lone battle or put this topic in the rearview and focus on his goal of finding a place on an NBA roster next season.
