7 NBA Players that could dominate the NFL

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When watching football, you just about always hear the commentators talking about players boxing others out to make a catch. This is commonly used when talking about players such as Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez and Jimmy Graham. All three are tight ends, but more importantly, all three are former basketball players. This got me thinking, who are some NBA players who would take the NFL by storm?

Michael Jordan v. LeBron James

In light of Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday, he has found his way back into the limelight of the sports world. Because of this, you can’t turn on ESPN without hearing about Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James, and everyone is asking – In their prime, who would win 1-on-1?

Stuck in the Past

By Chris Lehman

What does it mean to be the greatest of all time? The GOAT. The Mohammed Ali of your sport. Who decides who will be forever immortalized in a shrine of greatness?

This should be solely determined by what happens during the game. Whichever athlete steps up and makes the biggest splash, wins the most and most importantly, performs the best should be the best.

But this isn’t the case.

Rookie Impact

By Chris Lehman

Just a few years back was a time in sports when rookies had limited roles. They were brought in to learn from the veterans and would eventually become the marquee players. Of course there were some exceptions where a guy was brought in to be the guy, e.g., Peyton Manning or Shaq.

Now, however, it has become much more likely for a team to go out and draft a player to instantly be the face of the franchise. Some critics of this ideology say that a quarterback or point guard shouldn’t start as a rookie because they won’t be ready. A lot of the time that is the case, but we’ve seen players make an impact in their first year, or in Matt Ryan’s case, on their first professional play.

Previous rookies from recent years who fit this category include Derrick Rose, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. Here are some current rookies who were brought in to make an instant impact on their franchises and will be centerpieces for years to come.

NBA Draft Recap

By Chris Lehman

In what was considered by some to be the deepest draft since 2003, a few teams stood out as the clear winners. Out of the 30 NBA teams, only 23 got to participate in the first round sweepstakes. The Rockets managed to stockpile 3 picks in the first round. The Hornets, Celtics, Cavs, Blazers and Warriors each had 2. But just because a team had more than one pick, doesn’t necessarily mean they cleaned up. In a draft class like this, guys who would normally be marquee players, are considered the sleepers. So who had the best day? Not Coach Calipari, who lost the first 6 players in his 8 man rotation.

Witness, for he is no longer Winless

By Chris Lehman

For Michael Jordan it was the tongue. For Kobe Bryant it was the jaw. For LeBron James, it was strictly business. There was no more smiling, no more laughing and no more jawing at the refs. For the first time in his career, we saw that look from LeBron. That look that said he was ready, that he wanted it. You could look him in the eye and know that he was willing to sacrifice (or sucka-fice as Wade would say) and do whatever it was going to take to win. That’s what has been missing.

Justifying the Criticism

By Chris Lehman

In Response to Rick Reilly’s article, LeBron being LeBron :

- Bold quotations in my article are direct quotes from Reilly’s article

I will start by giving credit to Reilly for a very well written article on ESPN. While he raises some valid points, he missed on his main argument. 

Bigger in Texas

By Chris Lehman

I must start by giving credit to Skip Bayless for calling this in the preseason. When it turned out that my preseason pick would play his in the western finals I was hoping that OKC would win so I could stick it to Bayless (in my head because I highly doubt he even knows of my existence).

When breaking down this matchup in my western conference finals preview I said that the Spurs were the best team in the NBA and had been all year. They simply don’t have a weakness. First of all they have, in my opinion, the MVP in Tony Parker. On top of that, Tim Duncan has been considered by some as the best power forward of this generation. Timmy D is 36 now but is looking as youthful and athletic as he was when they won the championship 5 years ago or even nearly a decade ago!

Eastern Conference Finals

By Chris Lehman

This matchup in the east is actually very similar to the series in the west. In both matchups we have a team focused around speed and athleticism (Thunder & Heat). On the other side, we have two teams that are older and less athletic but rely on experience and chemistry (Spurs & Celtics).

In the west, I have the youthful Thunder winning in 7. Experience, however, will be the key in the east.

NBA Western Conference Finals

By Chris Lehman

In what has been an interesting change of events, the Western Conference has been fairly predictable in the playoffs this year. In years past, the west was the deeper conference and we usually saw  more surprises due to more talent. While the talent is still deep, there are two clear front-runners – and they have both locked up their spots in the western finals. The Thunder just abused the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Spurs tied for the league’s best regular season record, and have now swept two teams so far in the playoffs! This will be a phenomenal series: