Eagles CB Cooper DeJean shoots down Austin Rivers' NBA players superiority vs NFL narrative

Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean has refuted Austin Rivers' suggestion that NBA players are superior than NFL players. The new Philadelphia defender used to play basketball in high school.

The rookie said he sees talent all around the league and namechecked two players who could make waves in the NBA. According to him, Micah Parsons and Puka Nacua would be the ones to watch out for. However, he believes he could find 30 such footballers who would do well in basketball. Speaking to Kay Adams, he commented:

"There are a lot of other NFL players; I think you can find 30 to play in the NBA today, right now. You saw Puka playing in the celebrity All-Star game, Micah Parsons, those guys."

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Who is correct, Cooper DeJean or Austin Rivers?

There is no objective way to know whether NBA or NFL players are better athletes. But we could do some random sampling to come to some conclusions. There are two players who played both sports professionally.

Bud Grant, legendary Vikings manager, played for the Minneapolis Lakers in the NBA before embarking on an NFL career. He won the 1950 NBA Championship as a forward before joining the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive end in 1951.

Another was Hall-of-Fame quarterback Otto Graham. He played for the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League and won the 1945-46 championship before moving to the Cleveland Browns and winning seven titles with them.

In both cases, they played basketball first before moving to football. That gives credence to Austin Rivers' hypothesis. Both players also became legends in football, which might lend support to his idea that it is easier to reach to the top in the NFL as compared to the NBA.

On the other hand, Cooper DeJean can point out that the above are success stories, whereas a different instance could point to football being a more difficult sport.

For example, Charlie Ward was a dual-sport sensation for Florida State in the 1990s. However, he never played professionally in the NFL after refusing to enter the league if he did not enter in the first round. The New York Knicks took him 26th overall, and he chose to become a basketball player.

Thus, the higher interest he garnered from basketball and his career in the NBA could point to football being a tougher sport to succeed in. Ultimately, both Cooper DeJean and Austin Rivers might have strong opinions, but we do not have any way to validate it beyond anecdotes.