Patrick Mahomes Picks “First Love” Basketball Over Baseball as His “Other Sport”

Most people know Patrick Mahomes’ father played Major League Baseball. The Chiefs quarterback spent hours on the field with his dad. If things had gone differently, he may have become an MLB player. But if Mahomes had to choose, he’d rather have taken his talents to the hardwood.

Earlier today, Mahomes did a “Would You Rather?” promotion with Jake from State Farm. During the video, he was asked whether he’d pick basketball or baseball to be his “other sport.” The three-time Super Bowl champion gave a quick, two-word reply: “100% basketball.”

ESPN took a deep dive into Mahomes’ high school basketball career earlier this year. In the video’s opening minute, he declared basketball was his “first love.” As a senior, he averaged more than 19 points and eight rebounds per game.

I promise I was hoopin!!! They didn’t have to put the charge on the highlights tho https://t.co/Nj6LAakflq

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) May 15, 2024

In ESPN’s piece, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry complimented Mahomes’ creativity, but said his jump shot “needs some work.” Mahomes responded to Curry’s critiques by saying the end result is all that should matter.

“It goes in… it doesn’t always have to be pretty. I’m not gonna shoot like Steph.”

Mahomes believes a lot of his football success can be attributed to the skills he developed playing basketball. His scrambling ability in particular stands out to him.

“The skills of playing the point guard position specifically really helped me… if you watch me scrambling around, it’s the same thing. I look like I’m moving slow, but I’m getting where I need to get to. And I feel like in basketball, I was the same way.

Mahomes suffered an ankle injury in Week 15, but practiced in full every day this week. He’s going to start versus the Houston Texans. Whether his ankle is healthy enough for him to scramble effectively on Saturday, though, remains to be seen.

You can watch his whole “Would You Rather?” – which includes questions about breakfast or lunch and if he’d sacrifice his knees or elbows – below.

 

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Kickoff for the Texans-Chiefs showdown is Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m. E.T. on CBS.