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Traditionally, Basketball and Football are very different games. Football is usually 90 minutes whereas basketball is 48. At one time there are 10 players on the basketball court whereas in football there are 22. If the ball hits one's hand in football it is foul whereas if the ball hits one's leg in football it is a foul. The differences are endless.
Having said that a lot of the skills needed in both the sports is common. From dribbling, athletic prowess, skill, speed, shooting and vision one can find numerous similarities. The sports even have certain similar moves such as give and go. Both the sports are infamous for ankle and knee injuries due to the sudden change of direction common to both sports. In this article, I try to match footballers with their basketball counterparts according to similarities in their playing style.
#1 Eden Hazard and Kyrie Irving
The best dribbler in football right now would arguably be Eden Hazard. Eden Hazard completes a take on every 14.1 mins with an overall success rate of (80.4%). With this high percentage of dribbles at an unheard of success rate, he is statistically the best dribbler in football.
So naturally, when you think of dribblers or essentially ball handlers in basketball you have to think of Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving plays for the Boston Celtics and is arguably the greatest ever basketballer to handle the ball and so comparing the best dribbler in football right now to the best ball controller in basketball seems fair.
Both Eden Hazard and Kyrie Irving are fun to watch and take players on for fun and enjoy breaking ankles. Eden Hazard is one of the coolest penalty takers in football right now which goes to show how cool and composed he is. Kyrie Irving is "locked in" and one of the clutch players in basketball right now and so the players have their differences but just on the fact that they both are the best at dribbling/ball handling at the moment I put them together. Although only one of them thinks that the earth is flat.
#2 Kylian Mbpappe and Donovan Mitchell
The star of the 2018 World Cup, Kylian Mbappe is only nineteen and was the best offensive talent on his national team France. He leaves defenders behind with his blistering pace and skill and has the potential to be one of the best in the world one day. He has drawn comparisons to a younger Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
With all that in mind, the basketballer that comes to mind is Donovan Mitchell. Donovon at 21 is the star of his team (Utah Jazz) and tends to leave defenders for dead with his nuclear athleticism and skill. He has drawn comparisons to a younger Dwyane Wade and Russell Westbrook.
Both of them are young, fast and supreme offensive talents in their respective games and hence I put them together here. It would also be very fascinating to see both these players go head to head in a 100-meter dash. My money would be on Kylian Mbappe.
#3 Neymar and James Harden
You would not want to be one on one with Neymar. His dazzling footwork, speed and skill will leave you for dead. While he did not have the best World Cup but one tournament alone cannot be an accurate representation of Neymar. He is arguably the third best player in the world and is said to compete for the throne once Messi and Ronaldo retire.
The same can be said for James Harden. The 2018 league MVP, Harden is said to be one of the best one on one basketball players in the game right now. He lost to the Golden State Warriors in the conference finals in 2018 which is no shame as he was competing against four all-stars.
Both Neymar and James Harden possess immaculate footwork, tricks, skills and both are known to go down very easily. For all these reasons and more I put them together.
#4 Cesc Fabregas and Rajon Rondo
When you think of assists in football you think of Cesc Fabregas ( or Ozil depending on which club you support). Fabregas has lead Chelsea to two premier league titles and also provided the assist which led to Spain winning the World Cup back in 2010. He is all set to break the premier league record for maximum assists
When you think of assists in basketball you think of Rajon Rondo(or Chris Paul depending on which team you support). Rondo is a high intellect basketballer who controls the tempo of the game and loves assisting more than scoring. He is going to team up with Lebron James in Los Angels Lakers which is going to be an interesting partnership, to say the least. Both Fabregas and Rondo are incredible passers and readers of the game. They both have gone on camera to claim how they prefer giving an assist to scoring.
Both Rondo and Fabregas tend to move to rival clubs too. Fabregas moved from Arsenal to Barcelona too eventually Chelsea. Rondo too has gone from the Boston Celtics to now playing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
#5 Peter Crouch and Boban Marjanovic
Peter Crouch is mostly known for his height. At 2.01 meters he is one of the tallest footballers in the world. Crouch has scored some wonder goals but still, his primary asset as a footballer is his aerial ability.
While most basketballers are tall but a centre probably fits the bill as they rely lesser on skill and more on their height. In the active centres, Boban Marjanovic comes to mind. Boban is 2.22 meters and one of the tallest basketballers active right now. He is one of the five Serbian players active in the NBA right not. He represents the Los Angeles Clippers.
While I do not wish to undermine the skill of both Boban or Crouch but it would be a lie to not mention how useful their height is in their respective sports.
#6 Ngolo Kante and Russell Westbrook
Kante is the best defensive midfielder in the world and is known for his unlimited energy and engine. He was one of the main reasons why Leicester and Chelsea won the English premier league and France won the World Cup He is also known to be very humble and simple and is probably the most likeable footballer in the world right now.
Russel Westbrook is definitely not the most likeable basketballer in the world right now. While Westbrook has a completely different game but I believe he matches the energy and engine which Kante brings. While one can criticize Westbrook for a lot of things but he does play at a tempo and energy like no other basketballer.
Merely for the energy, passion and engine which both Kante and Westbrook bring to their respective games, I put them together.
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James
Two of the greatest athletes of their respective games this list would not be complete without Cristiano Ronaldo and Lebron James.
Cristiano Ronaldo recently moved to Juventus and is all set to light up the Italian League. Ronaldo has evolved his game from a pacy winger to a deadly striker and has scored many wonder goals over the years(recently against Juventus).
Lebron recently moved to the Los Angeles Lakers and is all set to team up with Lonzo Ball and co to try to compete for another ring. While Lebron loves to be the playmaker at times which does not go with Ronaldo who prefers to be the finisher but the reason I put them together is due to the sheer physical monsters that they both are in their games. Both are businessman off the field and unstoppable on the field. Both Ronaldo and Lebron have aged gracefully and show no signs of slowing down and we as sports fans are blessed to see these machines test themselves to their very limit.
