Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Austin Rivers recently made headlines after claiming that 30 NBA players could transition and play in the NFL, and that the reverse scenario could not happen. And naturally, a ton of NFL athletes weighed in on this take, including Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Allen pushed back against Rivers’ narrative, saying that he believes he could ” give some good minutes” in the NBA.
“Listen, I think there are guys on both sides that can have the ability to (transition),” said Allen. “I think I can give some good minutes. Like a 3-and-D guy. I’m gonna bust my tail on defense and chuck up a shot or two and hope that it goes in. But I’m gonna box out and go get some rebounds. I feel like I have the tools to do that. I can give you a good six or seven minutes off the bench.”
Allen sure doesn’t seem to have all that much confidence in being a true superstar in the NBA anytime soon. But it is interesting that he feels that he can at the very least fill a very small role for an NBA team if he pursued that opportunity.
Standing 6’5”, Allen would seemingly need to be one heck of a 3-and-D player if he did want to actually ever get some minutes on an NBA team.
Obviously, it is a hypothetical scenario that will never actually happen. But given Allen’s natural athleticism at the quarterback position, chances are he at least wouldn’t look like a total fool out on an NBA court.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.