Rick Pitino gives verdict on Aaron Judge’s potential as a basketball player

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 282 pounds, making him a good candidate to play basketball. Judge's height is around the average height of an NBA player, so if he had learnt to hoop, he would have had an advantage.

On Wednesday, legendary college basketball coach Rick Pitino, at Yankee Stadium, responded to a reporter question if Judge could have been a basketball player.

Pitino initially joked about Judge's flexibility:

"He's not quick enough laterally."

However, he noted that he would have been great.

"No, he'd be great. He plays the game of basketball, certainly, and he would be awesome for us," Pitino added.

So, if Judge were to rewind back to his college days, St. John's coach might have been interested in recruiting him.

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Aaron Judge opens up about choosing baseball over football and basketball

When Aaron Judge was in Linden High School, he excelled in multiple sports, including basketball and football, before eventually committing to baseball.

In his senior year, he recorded 17 touchdowns and 969 receiving yards as a wide receiver in football, averaged 18.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per game in basketball, and hit .500 with seven home runs in baseball. That attracted scholarship offers from prestigious universities like Notre Dame, Stanford and UCLA for football.

However, his desire and love for baseball made the decision an easy one for him. In an old interview with ESPN, he said:

“I just fell in love with baseball at a young age. Just a game within a game. A little chess match between the pitcher and the hitter. It kinda just drew me in.

“I love playing football, I miss it. I love playing basketball. Still shoot around a little bit. But I just kept getting drawn to baseball for some strange reason. It’s just a little passion I have for it,” Judge added.

That led to Judge accepting a partial scholarship to play baseball at Fresno State University.

Aaron Judge was drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft. Since then, he has become a cornerstone of the franchise, earning two regular-season MVPs already along with six All-Star selections.

Moreover, the way he's doing this season, he might add another MVP to his cabinet. In 2025, he's hitting .389 along with 21 home runs and 50 RBIs.