Getty Barry Sanders at a 2013 Super Bowl event.
When he played with the Detroit Lions, Barry Sanders was famous for running the ball and becoming one of the most electric players in the entire league and one of the best to ever play running back.
Sanders, however, was a man of many talents. Also a great basketball player, the Detroit legend never shied away from a game on the court, especially a pickup game. While he played with the Lions, Sanders became somewhat famous for his love of playing basketball in whatever spare time he had, and even managed to do so locally around the Detroit area.
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This week, during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Sanders talked about his past playing basketball and admitted that he used to play during the week when he was with the Lions. As he explained, it was a great way for him to get exercise and stay in shape when he had time and the weekly off day.
Back in his @Lions days, @BarrySanders would play pickup basketball at @oaklandu — would someone really not pick up the @ProFootballHOF to run 5s?
We still can’t believe what a caller told us today:
“I did play a lot of basketball at Oakland University. Really on off days, that was kind of my workout. I’d go and play basketball. Coaches weren’t supposed to know about this,” Sanders told Eisen through laughter. “But I was careful, I was very careful out there.”
For those who never got to see him perform, did Sanders have any game? Obviously, he believes that to be the case in a big way as he explained to Eisen, with some outside shooting and the ability to take the ball to the rack and get a dunk.
“I thought I was a decent outside shooter, decent hops. Back then I could probably throw it down. Back then I was involved in a few dunk contests back in those days,” Sanders said.
On the football field, there was little Sanders couldn’t do. For those privileged enough to see him on the basketball court, the same thing could have been the case.
Sanders Deferential on Athletic Abilities
So was Sanders the best athlete during the time he played on the field? Many Lions fans who watched him would likely come to that conclusion given the moves he was able to make on the field, but as he was so often, Sanders was humble when talking about this with The Dan Patrick Show.
Patrick asked Sanders if he believed he was a better athlete than Deion Sanders. After thinking about the question briefly, Sanders admits that he believes the former Falcon, Cowboy and 49ers stud has the edge over him thanks to what he accomplished not only in football but in baseball as well.
Who’s the best athlete? Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) picks between himself, Deion Sanders, and Bo Jackson. Do you agree with his choice?
For Barry’s full interview: t.co/8SrfSfMnPw
“If we’re being hones here, he did play two professional sports. Deion, he has several rings. I didn’t get it done. That’s all there is to it. I got to give it to the guy wth the rings. I’m never going to say I was better than Deion, he was phenomenal,” Sanders told Patrick.
Some of the basketball tape might tell a bit of a different story, however.
Watch Sanders’ Slam During Dunk Contest
Though he is clearly modest about his overall athletic ability, it’s clear Sanders was a serious player in his day across the board no matter his chosen sport. Once upon a time, Sanders, who is most known for his cat quick moves on the football field, even showed off the ability to dunk the basketball on the big stage in a competition. Recently, video of Sanders doing the dunk in the early 1990s showed up on Twitter, and folks were downright impressed that Sanders had such hops to make a play.
Former NFL player and NFL Network personality Will Blackmon showed off the video back in 2019, and seemed stunned himself that Sanders could do such a smooth double-pump jam on the court.
Here’s the play, which ended up making Dick Vitale go crazy while being rated a solid 9.8:
HOLD UP @BarrySanders ?!?!?!
Sanders isn’t kidding when he says he could jam the ball and also was a decent hooper in his time. Thankfully for the Lions, he was indeed careful and never got injured on the court having fun and working out.
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