Our friends at TheLeadSports broke a cool story about how three-time dunk champion Nate Robinson is training to be the first man in the modern era to play in the NBA and NFL. Bud Grant, who led the Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances as a coach, played two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers (1949-1951) and then two with the Philadelphia Eagles (1951-1952).*
Two years ago, the 5-9 Robinson told ThePostGame that he could make the jump from the NBA to the NFL if he dedicated himself to football:
Robinson, 31, played both sports at Washington, but his scholarship was for football and he walked on to the basketball team. He started six games, including the Sun Bowl, at cornerback as a freshman and had two interceptions. As a sophomore, he decided to focus on basketball.
The Phoenix Suns selected him in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft and immediately traded him to the Knicks. His career high in scoring was 17.2 points in 2008-09 with the Knicks, one of the eight NBA teams he played for. The Pelicans waived him in October, and that has given him time to prepare for his NFL dream.
"I haven't played in 11 years, 12 years," Robinson told TheLeadSports. "But I know how to tackle, I know how to play, I know how to hit, I know how to catch."
* For trivia sticklers, Otto Graham technically doesn't count. Graham played one season of pro basketball for the Rochester Royals of the National Basketball League in 1945-46. The NBA recognizes 1946-47 as its first season when the Basketball Association of America launched. The BAA and NBL merged to form the NBA in 1949, and Rochester was among the teams, but its 1945-46 season isn't reflected in the NBA records. As a quarterback, Graham went on to win three NFL championships with the Browns.
