Thursday, January 6th, 2011 at 2:36 pm  |  13 responses

Video: Russell Westbrook, the Football Player

XXL Magazine recently caught up with Russell Westbrook for a photo shoot and video interview. What caught our eye occured about a minute and 30 seconds into the tape, when Westbrook says, “I was playing football before I started playing basketball.” He goes on to insinuate that if it wasn’t for a late growth spurt that hurt his coordination, he may’ve stuck with football in college.

Behind the Scenes: Russell Westbrook XXL Fashion Shoot from XXL Video on Vimeo.

 

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  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    It’s crazy how these cats can concentrate on one sport, then just give it up and be a pro at another.
    Like Antonio Gates, or Jimmy Graham. I think the transition is harder from football to basketball because it’s more difficult to just take over with athleticism, but still.

  • A

    Its kind of interesting how many and many and many basketball players played Hs and College football and Basketball, like Nate Robinson and Donovan McNabb.

  • TheMac

    Lebron, AI & a lot more played HS football.. AI was crazy on the field too!

  • tavoris

    @allenp-russ’s athleticism is definitely transferable.
    @TheMac-AI was better than crazy. He was widely considered the #1 player in the country as a junior.

  • http://Mrjones21901@aol.com Run’n'Gun219

    at one point in time ai was #1 prospect in basketball and in football. Bubba Chuck was born to be some type of athelete

  • youngmuggsy

    An American professional athlete who played football in high school, this is definitely newsworthy.

  • J

    R Wizzo And K Dizzle about to take over 2011
    #thunderup

  • fruizm

    hes a beast….but most of these players need me to update their ipod with some good music….lil wayne???? dancing songs???

  • T-Money

    if you excel at both, the smart choice is basketball. guaranteed money, longer money, less injuries.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    ^ I agree. Also it helps that other nations in the world outside of Canada and the United States play/support basketball, so if a player can’t make the NBA he can play overseas and still make a decent living. The only alternative for a football player is the CFL and maybe Arena Football, if that still exists.

  • T-Money

    yep. and the salaries in the cfl are not distributed evenly at all, ricky ray makes 500 K a year but the vast majority of players make less than 100 K, some barely make 30 K.

  • http://google c_cantrell

    sh*t bro.. 100 K a year is damn good money where i come from

  • 3John3

    I played football for a reason, that is basketball. If you love basketball and you want to get better play football. if your not in it you should play, it helps you on skills.

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