Ex-NBA vet Sam Dekker drops harsh reality check for NFL players' hoop dreams reacting to DK Metcalf's basketball mixtape

After being a first-round pick in 2015, Sam Dekker enjoyed a brief career in the NBA. A few years removed from his playing days, he took to social media to react to basketball highlights from one of the NFL's top athletes.

While enjoying his downtime in the offseason, star wide receiver DK Metcalf was seen playing basketball to help keep his conditioning up. He had the gym in awe as he threw down multiple thunderous dunks. As the highlights from his pickup game went around online, it sparked the longstanding debate on whether NFL players could play in the NBA.

Fans were hype to see Metcalf show out on the hardwood, but Sam Dekker responded with a dose of reality. He re-posted the video saying there is a stern difference between pickup games and playing at the highest level in the sport.

"Dunking in Men’s League pick-up is not equal to “playing in the NBA”…

Dekker began his career with the Houston Rockets but quickly started bouncing around the league. Some of his other stops included the LA Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards. Dekker's last run in the NBA came during the 2022 season when he appeared in just one game for the Toronto Raptors.

As for Metcalf, he is getting ready to embark on a new journey in his NFL career. After spending years with the Seattle Seahawks, he was traded last week to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Sam Dekker reacts to court designs for 2025 Final Four

Before going on to be a first-round pick in the NBA, Sam Dekker had a rather successful college career at Wisconsin. Almost a decade removed from his time there, he still thinks about coming up just short in his last two seasons.

Before the 2025 NCAA Tournament gets underway, court designs for the Final Four have made their way to social media. Dekker reacted to them on X (formerly Twitter), looking back on his college career in the process.

Playing alongside another future NBA journeyman in Frank Kaminsky, Dekker and Wisconsin had multiple deep runs. The first was in Dekker's sophomore season in 2014. Wisconsin made it all the way to the Final Four but suffered a one-point loss at the hands of Julius Randle and Kentucky.

In 2015, Sam Dekker and Wisconsin got revenge on Kentucky and punched their ticket to the championship game. The last team in their way was a Duke squad led by future lottery picks Jahlil Okafor and Justice Winslow.

The game would end up going down to the wire, with Duke managed to walk out victorious by a final score of 68-63. Following two chances at a title slipping by him, Dekker decided to forego his senior season and enter the NBA draft.