The NBAFL
By Greg Pike
January 13, 2004
The 2004 NFL Season witnessed some spectacular performances from some very good players whose talents were honed playing the game of basketball in college. San Diego’s Antonio Gates helped Kent State to the NCAA Elite Eight before setting an NFL record with 13 TD’s by a tight end. Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb played hoops at Syracuse before leading the Eagles to the top spot in the NFC and 31 TD’s to boot. Both Carolina’s Julius Peppers and Oakland’s Ronald Curry wore Tar Heel Blue in the Dean Dome at Chapel Hill before putting on pads and chasing their NFL dreams.
Watching NBA League Pass last night I began to wonder: could you put together a NFL team with NBA players? Here’s my attempt...
OFFENSE:
Quarterbacks:
Allen Iverson, Philadelphia: Played QB in high school in Virginia. Michael Vick clone
Wally Szczerbiak, Minnesota: QB good looks & 6’7” frame would be prototypical QB
Running Backs: (Hardest to select)
Stephon Marbury, New York: Bulldog, would be hard to bring down. He’s tops.
Aaron McKie, Philadelphia: Fullback, good blocking back and unselfish
Steve Francis, Orlando: perfect 3rd down back; quick and fearless
Baron Davis, New Orleans: Fullback build, just hope he would stay healthy
Wide Receivers: (Deepest skills of the bunch)
LeBron James, Cleveland: Played WR in High School. Randy Moss at 6’8”
Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers: Speed and hands would make a tremendous receiver
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota: At 6’11”, he’s a Harold Carmichael clone
Vince Carter, New Jersey: Leaping ability, but would avoid contact across the middle
Shawn Marion, Phoenix: I’d see “The Matrix” as a possession receiver
Tight Ends: (Age and youth are served)
Chris Webber, Sacramento: Would catch anything thrown his way with big hands
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix: Big Target running down the middle. Fast and exciting
Karl Malone, Free Agent: Speed, strength and desire would make for a great TE
Offensive Line: (Looking for bangers and enforcers)
Shaquille O’Neal, Miami: Put him at Left Tackle and have him protect QB’s blind side
Dale Davis, Golden State: Enforcer who you wouldn’t want to upset
Antonio Davis, Chicago: Veteran who’s a nice guy enforcer
Kevin Willis, Atlanta: Would have no holding call due to short arms
Robert Traylor, Cleveland: Looks like an Offensive Lineman
Brian Grant, LA Lakers: Dreadlocks would be flopping out of his helmet
Udonis Haslem, Miami: Young enforcer and scrapper
The Collins Brothers, Utah/NJ: Big, smart and would seem like they’d both be guards
Brad Miller, Sacramento: Midwest roots would make him a Nebraska-type lineman
DEFENSE:
Defensive Line: (I like this group)
Ben Wallace, Detroit: Would be a mean defensive end and pass rusher
Kenyon Martin, Denver: As a quarterback, I would not want to be blindsided by K-Mart
Carlos Boozer, Utah: Big Body would be perfect as a defensive end/tackle
Danny Fortson, Seattle: Just looks like a Warren Sapp-type defensive tackle/nose guard
Marcus Fizer, Milwaukee: Big, mean boy
Reggie Evans, Seattle: 6’8", 240 and strong as an ox. Could move to OL as well
Linebackers:
Ron Artest, Indiana: Once he got suspended, he could have helped out the Colts defense
Corey Maggette, LA Clippers: Perfect build to play linebacker
Ruben Patterson, Portland: Kobe-stopper would turn into run-stopper
Darvin Ham, Detroit: Big hitter if he catches you
Quentin Richardson, Phoenix: Would be passing LB specialist
Defensive Backs:
Gary Payton, Boston: “The Glove” would have been avoided back in the day
Dwyane Wade, Miami: Shut-down corner would be avoided now
Darrell Armstrong, Dallas: Small but quick corner who’s fearless
Bobby Jackson, Sacramento: Willing to sacrifice his body and would play all-out
Doug Christie, Orlando: Safety who would be ball-hawker
Larry Hughes, Washington: Another ball-hawking safety
Gilbert Arenas, Washington: Size and speed would make for a fine safety
Jason Richardson, Golden State: Big, fast and athletic. Would want to play offense
Special Teams:
Steve Nash, Phoenix: Kicker. Big fan of soccer growing up in Canada
Reggie Miller, Indiana: Still seeing Reggie punting ball into stands after games
Earl Boykins, Denver: Punt returner. At 5’5”, would be hard to catch
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