Every red-blooded American sports fan has sat at a bar and had the discussion of how much LeBron would dominate as a wide receiver in the NFL, but what about Russell Westbrook taking snaps in the shotgun? What about JJ Watt hitting cleanup for the Astros? What if Julio Jones was posterizing Dwight Howard instead of torching Sam Shields. These are the top two-sport stars of today….if they actually played two sports.
10. Anthony Davis – Goalkeeper in Soccer
The discussion of why Americans are not as relevant in world soccer as they should be has one, simple answer: our best athletes don’t play the sport. It is tough to find translatable skills between NBA and professional soccer players, but I have to believe that Anthony Davis is currently the greatest goalkeeper in the world but he simply hasn’t ever played soccer. The guy has a 7’8 wingspan….how are you supposed to score?
9. Mike Trout – Point Guard in NBA
The MLB is not as fertile a breeding ground for all around athletes as the NFL or NBA, but Mike Trout is not a regular baseball player. He’s built like an NFL running back and can run like one too. There was a video posted of him recently showing him beating Draymond Green in a game of horse and dunking with relative ease (all in a slick button-down and dress shoes). This guy could most likely dominate any sport he plays.
8. Odell Beckham Jr. – Striker in Soccer
Putting OBJ in a sport where using your hands is forbidden is probably not in his best interest. Either way, I would pay money to watch him run down a deep ball from the back line or rise up and hammer a corner kick into the upper 90. Considering I have actually never paid any money to watch anyone play soccer, this might be something for the MLS to mull over.
7. Mike Vick – CF in MLB
Mike Vick is flat out the best athlete to ever play QB in the NFL, no discussion. You may not have known that he was drafted in the 30th round of the 2000 MLB draft (Adam LaRoche and Ian Kinsler were drafted in the 29th round) on sheer athletic ability alone. I don’t know about you, but thinking of Vick playing centerfield in San Francisco and running down a ball in the 420 ft gap at AT&T Park, turning around and hosing a strike to home to double up a tagging runner gives me a half chub.
6. Cristiano Ronaldo – WR in NFL
Once again, translating soccer players’ skills into different sports is like trying to predict what’s under that University of Michigan coed’s hoodie in January; you’re really just guessing. This guy breaks the mold of the usual 5’6 marathon-runner strikers that are in abundance in world soccer. At 6’1 and 180 lbs, he runs an estimated 4.5 40 yard dash with a 32” vertical. With those measurements, I’m putting him in the slot and watching him wreck shop.
5. Julio Jones – Shooting Guard in NBA
Julio is as incredible an athlete as any human being in the world. 6’3 225 lbs – 4.39 40 time – 38.5” vertical. This guy would have been king of the world 3,000 years ago and could have single handedly provided enough food for the whole village on one deer hunt using just his bare hands. I can only imagine what it would be like to see him take off on a fast break and drop his nuts in some scrub’s mouth while shattering the backboard.
4. JJ Watt – 1B in MLB
There are countless examples of football players getting drafted in the MLB (see Mike Vick, and he didn’t play baseball after 7th grade). JJ Watt is not one of those players, but if you happened to catch a video of him taking batting practice in Houston then you know what I’m talking about. The guy is 6’5, 290 lbs and has straight up light tower power from the right handed side of the batter’s box. I wouldn’t mind watching him catch a 95 mph fastball and going Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez on it.
3. Russell Westbrook – QB in NFL
Russell Westbrook has the quickest first step in the NBA, so watching him evade JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney only to dip out around the edge and explode downfield would be fucking sweet. I don’t know how easily he would be able to dissect a defense with surgeon-like precision (fuck off Trent Dilfer), but who gives a shit when you are 6’3, 190 lbs and run what looks like a 4.4 40 yard dash.
2. Tom Brady – Closer in MLB
I have absolutely no idea if Tom Brady knows how to throw a two seamer and he doesn’t even have one of the strongest arms in the NFL anymore, but I’m taking him solely on his ability to rise to the occasion. Give this man the ball when you’re up two in the bottom of the ninth and there’s not a doubt in my mind he’ll get you three outs. I don’t care what kind of “stuff” he has, I know TFB would take 2 hours before each game to find a hole in every player’s swing and lead you to a championship.
1. LeBron James – WR in NFL
As mentioned before, this discussion has taken place since LeBron entered the NBA. The man is 6’8, runs and jumps like a deer on steroids, and has the hand-eye coordination of shaolin monk. He is simply one of the greatest physical specimens the world has ever seen and I could think of no other way for him to display his dominance than catching a fade in the corner of the end zone, miles above Josh Norman’s reach. He self-proclaims a 4.6 40 yard dash which is pretty goddamn fast for a guy ½ a foot taller than Darrelle Revis and 50 pounds heavier than Richard Sherman.
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