In the world of professional sports, athletes are always being compared to one another. However, when one sport is compared to another sport, the debate gets a little heated. A similar incident occurred when the former Super Bowl champions Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce asked Paul George whether NFL players could crossover to the NBA and vice versa on their podcast, New Heights.

Answering them, the 8x All-Star Paul George spoke about how NFL players would not be able to crossover to the NBA due to the level of difficulty in basketball, whereas basketball stars would shine in the NFL. This bold statement not only raised the eyebrows of the fans on both sides, but also of a former NBA champion.

Paul George makes bold claims

Paul George on his “Podcast P,” explicitly said, “I don’t think any football player could cross over to the NBA, our game is completely skilled. I think for an NFL guy to be able to play in the league, they gotta be hell of a shooter, right? Because otherwise we’re not gonna guard you, you can’t shoot. Like that athleticism, that strength, that means nothing if you can’t shoot the ball in our league.” After listening to all these comments made by the 33-year-old forward, Celtics legend Kevin Garnett took to Instagram to show how surprised he was with his comments. He reposted the video to his story along with a deep-thinking emoji.

But even though George raised a lot of eyebrows with his claims, he backed them up with some examples. He pointed out the 4x NBA champion LeBron James and said, “Imagine if Bron was in the NFL. Who the f*ck is stopping Bron.” However, he did not stop there and said that even Russell Westbrook would be able to crush it in the NFL because of his stature. Due to his speed and athleticism, he claimed that “Russ would play safety” and even spoke about himself saying “I think I could’ve played wide receiver.” But as all these examples are made up by Paul George, are there any athletes who were able to crossover and conquer another sport?

Athletes who managed to succeed in two sports professionally

The realm of professional sports has witnessed players who are exceptionally talented in their sport and etch their names in the history books. However, there are also some players who managed to leave a mark on various sports and transcended conventional boundaries. Players like Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, and Michael Jordan are some examples who managed to leave a mark on two different sports.

Deion Sanders is a dual-sport phenomenon who excelled in football and baseball. He played for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves at the same time in 1992, creating headlines for the Braves and notably contributing to their World Series run. Bo Jackson was a well-known athlete who succeeded in both the NFL and MLB, winning the All-Star Game MVP in 1989 and becoming a Pro Bowler in the NFL.

Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, took a break from basketball to pursue baseball, joining the Chicago White Sox in 1994. Despite his short career, he led the Chicago Bulls to a three-peat, cementing his iconic status. So, these are some of the athletes who dared to step into other sports and managed to create history.

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What are your thoughts on George’s statement? Let us know in the comments!