In all of NFL history only one person has ever played in the NFL an the NBA. Nate Robinson is trying to make it two. The three-time NBA slam dunk champion an 11-year NBA vet is trying his hand at playing defensive back in the NFL. He’s already had a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks.
Robinson has an uphill battle. First off, he’s 32 years old, not exactly the prime age to break into the most violent sport in the world. Second, you know, he was a professional basketball player for 11 years and for eight different NBA teams. He’s also not exactly a towering figure at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds.
Doesn't sound like the #Seahawks will be signing local star PG/DB Nate Robinson — today. But… they'll keep in contact for down the road.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 13, 2016
But here’s the thing. Back at the University of Washington in 2002 Robinson played cornerback on the football team, played all 13 games, had two picks and also returned kicks. He played both sports his freshman season, but quit football when then coach Rick Neuheisel got fired.
“If he (Neuheisel) had stayed the coach, I would’ve been probably playing both football and basketball the entire time I was there and picked one later on,” Robinson told ESPN back in April. “I probably would’ve tried the NFL first and then, if that didn’t work, then go back to basketball if I could do it all over again.”
For Robinson to feel that way is really saying something. The dude was a first round NBA draft pick in 2005, so obviously his love of football has never waned.
Robinson’s athleticism should go without saying. You don’t win the dunk contest three times if you have trouble lifting off the ground. He was a point guard and that’s a position that takes a lot of discipline and intelligence to play.
The only other player to do it was Bud Grant, who is much more famous as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1970s. Grant played two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers before deciding football was his game. He became a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles when he was 24 years-old.
“It’s a big time dream,” Robinson said. “Something I’ve always wanted to do, play both sports at the highest level. We’ll see if I can be the first one to really do it.”
According to the Washington Post, the Seahawks were the second team Robinson tried out for, but no one has a line on the first. Since he was cut by the New Orleans Pelicans, maybe the Saints? It does seem like he’d have a better shot on a team with a weaker secondary, not the Seahawks and the Legion of Boom, who are one of the top units in the business. He’s reportedly also been in contact with the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.
“I need to get a little stronger, a little faster,” Robinson said. “Lifting weights and watching a lot of film. Work on my feet and my hands and how to press. Basic stuff. I catch on pretty fast. Just learn some of the drills they’d have me do and start practicing and get ready for it.”
This isn’t Robinson’s first flirtation with the NFL. Back in 2011 he passed a few tweets back and forth with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll about joining the team. Carroll had tried to recruit Robinson when he was head coach at USC.
@nate_robinson we know you have great handles, but the question is: does it translate to DB skills? I kinda think it does…
— Pete Carroll (@PeteCarroll) August 2, 2011
Robinson decided to stay in the NBA and played a season with the Chicago Bulls.
“The biggest challenge is probably all the haters,” Robinson said. “Everybody counting me out. Somebody not really giving me the opportunity… If somebody gives me that chance, I know they’ll fall in love with the fierce competitor that I am…”
Competitor or not, the deck is stacked against Robinson. The fact that the Seahawks are “keeping him in mind,” though could mean he could get a call down the road. You’d hate to think he could wait a year and re-learn the position with a private coach, but that may be his best shot. He’d be 33 then and maybe that’s just too long a shot to take.
