Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
The National Basketball Association and the National Football League produces stars.
Think Michael Jordan, Terrell Owens, Magic Johnson, Donovan McNabb, Shaquille O’Neal, Ezekiel Elliott LeBron James, Randy Moss, Kobe Bryant, Cam Newton and Allen Iverson.
Past and present star power is all there.
On the Scoop B Radio Podcast, I asked retired NFL vet and current NFL Network and CBS Sports analyst, Nate Burleson who compares to whom in their respective leagues.
“I feel like Tom Brady is addicted to the game,” Burleson told me.
“That’s why he hasn’t retired after all of the success. There’s something about the game that brings him joy which reminds me of the greats. It reminded me of Jordan and Kobe in their later years where you’re like dog, you can walk away. You’re still the greatest. But they couldn’t. They couldn’t let it go.”
That’s real! The late Kobe Bryant retired from basketball in 2016. Tom Brady is now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“As far as the style of play, I think Lamar Jackson…He is the closest thing we seen to Iverson,” Burleson tells me.
“When Iverson was just shaking dudes out of their shoes and every time he had the ball in his hand it was so entertaining, and for his size it was crazy because Iverson isn’t that big. How is he doing this among these giants? And the same thing with Lamar. Lamar is slight. He ain’t that big but how is he doing this among these giants? That’s what made his game so good.”
Burleson’s next analogy may shock you.
“And then Pat Mahomes, he’s like Magic Johnson,” he tells Scoop B Radio.
GettyMagic Johnson speaks onstage during The Genius of Magic Johnson.
“He sees the floor. He sees the court. He sees the field. So much so, that he even threw a no look pass like Magic did back in the day. And the reason why I say Magic versus LeBron, — LeBron is physical bro. LeBron is what Cam Newton was at quarterback: strong, fast and dominant. But Mahomes, is more like Magic because Magic was never really the greatest athlete. He was the slickest with the ball in his hand and he was smarter than everybody on the court. That’s Pat Mahomes. He’s not the greatest athlete on the field; he can run past you I guess, really though he’s just the smartest. He can make every throw on the field. Just like Magic can make any pass on the court.”