Anthony Edwards has been in comparison with Michael Jordan fairly a bit over the previous yr or so, however that has largely been due to his exploits on the basketball courtroom. The 2 are equally sized, equally explosive taking pictures guards that take delight of their protection and have been drafted by groups that hadn’t gained a championship but. On Sunday, nevertheless, Edwards once more impressed Jordan comparisons, however this time, it was for one thing that might occur off of the courtroom.
In 1993, Jordan retired after successful his third NBA championship and tried to play skilled baseball with the Chicago White Sox. The try in the end failed earlier than he reached the main leagues, and he returned to the NBA in 1995. In an interview with ESPN forward of Tuesday’s Cowl Story launch, Edwards claimed that, he, too, needs to attempt a second sport… however with a caveat.
“I informed my buddies, I stated, if I win a hoop within the subsequent three to 4 years, I will play soccer,” Edwards stated.Â
There may be ample video proof of Edwards’ potential on the gridiron, however all of it got here earlier than his twelfth birthday. Edwards didn’t play highschool soccer because it had change into obvious by that time that his future was in basketball.
“I may have been knowledgeable soccer participant,” Edwards informed SBNation in 2019. “I used to be actually good. I used to be the No. 1 operating again within the nation at 9 or 10. I ended taking part in as a result of I seen my brothers taking part in basketball. I believed it seemed extra enjoyable.”
Nonetheless, there’s a wealthy historical past of basketball gamers making the leap to soccer after taking years off. These basketball gamers simply have a tendency to not be NFL stars. Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates grew to become celebrity tight ends within the NFL regardless of taking part in school basketball. Neither had assured monetary futures accessible in basketball, so the leap made sense for them. Edwards is in the course of a max contract, and based mostly on each his personal talent and the speedy progress of the wage cap, he’d be sacrificing tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} if he ever left the NBA to play within the NFL, regardless of how good he turned out to be at soccer.
Given his physique sort, Edwards in all probability could not play operating again within the NFL. Edwards is 6-foot-5, whereas most operating backs are nearer to and even under six ft. Even a notoriously tall again like Derrick Henry is just 6-foot-3, whereas 6-foot-5 large receivers are usually extra widespread and have important utility. Operating backs have to navigate tight areas, which is difficult to do whenever you’re that tall, however measurement could be very useful in terms of high-pointing passes and catching them over smaller defensive backs.
In any occasion, regardless of how a lot Edwards would possibly wish to play soccer, it appears terribly unlikely that he ever does, whether or not or not he will get his NBA championship ring within the subsequent few years. No NBA group would ever permit considered one of its gamers to play soccer on the aspect. The damage threat is simply too nice. He must retire from skilled basketball, or no less than signal some type of contract with little or no assured cash, to truly make that dream a actuality. If Jordan can retire from basketball to tackle one other sport, anybody can, however that does not imply it is one thing we must always ever really anticipate Edwards to do.Â