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It hasn't happened in more than 50 years, but a Boston Celtics star was hoping to make history during the work stoppage.

Rajon Rondo says if he knew the length of the lockout before it started, he would have given professional football a shot.

"I think I'm a pretty good athlete," Rondo told ABC. "I'm not gonna say it's an easy job that I could have just went out there and did anything. But I would have to give it a shot."

Rondo is pretty good at his day job, too. He recently became the first NBA player other than Wilt Chamberlain (1968) and Oscar Robertson (1961) to have a triple-double with at least 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds.

But the All-Star guard has a football background. At 6-1, 171 pounds, he was a star quarterback during his prep days at Louisville's Eastern High School. Rondo's first love was football before his mother directed him toward basketball, worried about her son being injured. The Celtics star thinks he could have made the transition to receiver in the NFL.

Rondo went as far as speaking with head coach Bill Belichick about his secret plan.

"I was actually serious, I talked to coach Belichick about that but I had a contract already with the Celtics so it didn't work out," Rondo told ABC.

What does Tom Brady think of all this? Brady, who attended Sunday's Lakers-Celtics game, told ABC's Lisa Salters that while he's never seen Rondo run or catch, he is pretty quick.

LeBron James, Nate Robinson and other basketball stars have recently mentioned a desire to play pro football, but for the most part these are guys with overly active imaginations.

Bud Grant and Otto Graham are believed to be the only players to make it in both pro basketball and NFL. Graham played for the Rochester Royals during the 1945-46 season ahead of becoming a star quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. The Royals won the 1946 NBL championship a year before the league merged with another and eventually became the more famous NBA.

Grant, better known for his days as a head coach of the Vikings, played for the Minneapolis Lakers during the 1949-51 seasons before spending two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Bud was part of the 1949-50 NBA champions, who beat the Syracuse Nationals.

Grant would later coach the Vikings for 18 years, leading Minnesota to 11 division championships and four Super Bowl appearances.

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