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Investigation: Could Jalen Hurts Train for One Year and Be Better at Basketball Than Michael Jordan Would Be at Football?
By Kyle Pagan
Published:
Could Jalen Hurts train for one year and be better at basketball than Michael Jordan would be at football with the same practice time? That’s a solid question:
For argument’s sake, this is both of them in their prime and not MJ now, which is still not off the table. Pretty sure that guy was still dunking like only five years ago.
I’ve scoured the Internet for Jalen Hurts basketball footage and couldn’t find anything. Not him shooting on the hoop the Eagles installed in NovaCare or anything from his time at Alabama, Oklahoma, or in high school. I immediately found MJ letting one rip for 65 yards back in his prime, though:
How about MJ casually saying he can throw 65 yards, with a sore wrist btw, and doing it. That’s why he’s the GOAT!
Until I can find footage of Hurts playing basketball, this argument has to go to MJ. Fair is fair. I don’t even know if Jalen can dribble a ball. Remember, he was a powerlifter in high school. You ever play basketball against a guy who can squat 600 pounds? They almost throw the ball over the hoop during layup lines and shot put the ball on jumpers. Football players are hilarious to watch play basketball. It’s just brute force and zero hand-eye coordination for most of them. They’ll miss 10 straight from inside the lane, but get the rebound every single time. They have the same game as Angel Reese.
Now, I have seen Jalen swing a golf club, and it was brutal:
The good news is he’s a coach’s kid. He’s manufactured a pretty nice swing since 2023:
Maybe a year of Herb Magee and Pete Maravich VHS tapes could morph him into a problem. That’s one thing you gotta remember. We’re talking about absolute psychopaths here. Two guys that will do anything to win. You give them both a year practicing in their prime and I don’t think it’s out of the question they could both compete in each other’s sport. If Tim Boyle can create a solid NFL career after these college stats, then MJ can easily find a starting job – as long as it doesn’t require hitting a curveball:
If half the guys the Sixers signed to 10-day contracts last year can make a roster and compete, then so can Hurts.
We do need to talk about Jalen’s starting five:
- Cooper DeJean
- Tanner McKee
- Terrace Marshall
- Devonta Smith
- Himself
Solid list. DeJean and Devonta have amazing high school highlight films so I’m sure they could lace them up and compete right away. I want to apologize to the Mormon Missile because I was not familiar with your game. Hurts is taking him and Terrace Marshall over a bunch of guys that can play:
Tough look not taking Cam Jurgens at the five spot. Amazing spread-the-floor guy. Stick him in the corner and he’s a problem. Let him battle down low with the grunts and get to the line. He plays like every football player in high school that just played basketball to stay in shape.
Kyle writes blog posts and does Man on the Street-style videos all around Philadelphia. He graduated from Temple University (a basketball school) in 2015. contact: k.pagan@sportradar.com