Off Topic: NBA Players who are good at other sports

[schnakenpopanz]

Seeing this video of VB taking a gorgeous free kick.
Are there any other guys who are suprisingly good at other sports?
Not the obvious ones like LeBron at American Footnall or something different.

Read on Twitter

[FrodoBaggins]

Danny Ainge.

[Ritzo]

It's well-known that Steve Nash is very skilled at soccer

[UcanUwill]

I imagine this will be just - this American player also played American football in highschool/college. While Euros will be goot at (real) Football.

Yeah, Steve Nash was very skilled at Football, honestly, I always felt like he liked it more than Basketball, I believe he was on that Football sports talk show at one point. Speaking about Victor, imagine him as goalkeeper...

[UcanUwill]

Everyone knows this by now, but Chase Budinger, Olympic beach Volleyball athlete. Luka Doncic top 500 ranked tank in Overwatch haha.

[THE J0KER]

Nikola Jokic:

Watch on YouTube

BTW, since 3x3 basketball has become an Olympic sport, why don't countries which not qualify for the Men's Olympic basketball tournament but qualified for 3x3 not use their NBA player or two there? I know it is a different sport, but I'm sure, for example, that 2024 Latvia would be better with Porzingis, Poland with Sochan (or Podziemski), Lithuania with Sabonis..

[-Luke-]

Wasn't Wilt a pretty good volleyball player or was this just one of his exaggerated stories?

Nowitzki was a skilled tennis player in his youth. There was a story that he beat Tommy Haas (who was No. 2 in the world ranking at some point and won a silver medal at the Olympics) in some Bavarian youth tournament when they were both kids. But I think I've read neither of the two remembers that match. So it probably didn't happen. But that he was pretty talented at tennis wasn't a made-up story from what I've read.

[lambchop]

LBJ and Ant were good at football. Wasn't Embiid a volleyball player?

[UcanUwill]

Never played in the NBA, but one of the best players who never played in the NBA, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, was a serious boxer when teen, he moved away from boxing and picked up basketball at 16 years old.

And, of course Kaspars Kambala became boxer after retiring, that was one scary looking man.

And since I am talking about this, remembered that James Johnson has black belt, but I think every NBA fan knows this.

[-Luke-]

Oh, and Bill Russell was an excellent high jumper. Like, not only good or had some talent, but Olympics level good.

Quoting wikipedia:

He was a standout in the high jump and according to Track & Field News was ranked the seventh-best high-jumper in the world in 1956, his graduation year, despite not competing in Olympic high-jump competition.[22][50] That year, Russell won high jump titles at the Central California Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) meet, the Pacific AAU meet, and the West Coast Relays (WCR). One of his highest jumps occurred at the WCR, where he achieved a mark of 6 feet 9+1⁄4 inches (2.06 m);[51] at the meet, Russell tied Charlie Dumas, who would later in the year win gold in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia for the United States and become the first person to high-jump 7 feet (2.13 m).

[dzumaal]

Michael Jordan in baseball

[MissileMike]

There's probably one of these among active players on every nba team. ie on the bulls, Matas Buzelis had the top breaststroke time in illinois as a kid.

[Lalouie]

is this my queue to post john wall pitching again

[RookieStar]

Jalen Suggs.. think he was a quarterback?

[kwajo]

Scott Burrell was drafted in the first round in both the NBA and MLB, I’d say he must have been pretty darn good at both.

[God Squad]

Many American NBA players had to choose between football and basketball once they reached high school.

While many African players played soccer growing up.

[itrsteve]

Just checked GHIN, currently Curry is a +1.1 HCP (golf)

That's absolutely insane to be a plus handicap for somebody with the seasonal demands that he has.

Dennis Schroder is also a somewhat decent skateboarder, nothing special but way better than any pro athlete should be.

(those are the two sports I care about)

[CumberlandPosey]

Wasn't Wilt a pretty good volleyball player or was this just one of his exaggerated stories?

Nope.true Story.the dipper made the Volleyball hof.

Obvious answer -- james Johnson and his fighting skills.

[nbaguy1]

Doncic came in 3rd at Slovenian Kvas

[StarneyBinston]

Just checked GHIN, currently Curry is a +1.1 HCP (golf)

That's absolutely insane to be a plus handicap for somebody with the seasonal demands that he has.

Dennis Schroder is also a somewhat decent skateboarder, nothing special but way better than any pro athlete should be.

(those are the two sports I care about)

I'm surprised he's even allowed to skate, I thought that players were usually contractually forbidden from "extreme" sports (like skateboarding, snowboarding, etc.). Unless that's not a thing anymore, or his prowess predate his NBA career?