Austin Rivers sure did stir up a discourse this week during an appearance on Pat McAfee’s show. Rivers, the longtime NBA player who is now a pundit for ESPN, went onto the show and expressed his belief that there are 30 NBA players who could be dropped in the NFL right away and succeed, and if the shoe was on the other foot, there are not 30 NFL players who could make it in the NBA right now.
“I can take 30 players right now in the NBA and throw them in the NFL. You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA.” —@AustinRivers25
What NBA players could you see playing in the NFL?
@PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/nY8SJRfwX8
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 7, 2024
Some folks, like JJ Watt, reacted very strongly to this. Others, like Shaquille O’Neal, reacted very strongly to Charles Barkley reacting to this. Barkley expressed his belief on Inside the NBA after the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night that Rivers is wrong, which led to Shaq reacting about how you’d expect: He immediately wanted Barkley to go stand out in front of the desk so he could tackle him to prove a point.
Chuck calls out Austin Rivers
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— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 9, 2024
Listen, I do not know if this would or would not prove anything about NBA players being able to play football, but I am 100 percent certain that no one — no NBA player, no NFL player, nary a soul on this planet — wants to get tackled by Shaquille O’Neal. Anyway, the tension got reduced significantly when Shaq was given an autographed hockey jersey.