Three-time NBA Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson. (Photo : Getty Images)
Former NBA player Nate Robinson has agreed to a deal with Israeli basketball club Hapoel Tel Aviv as he reportedly decided to pass up his pursuit of a National Football League career in the United States.
NBC Sports' Kurt Helin, citing international sports reporter David Pick, said that the 31-year-old three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion is "taking his talents to Israel" after recently announcing in a social media video that he will try to pursue playing professional football at its highest level.
Helin noted that "this was always the next logical step for the three-time dunk contest champion and fan favorite, either Europe or China" because "the odds were very, very long" for "an undersized 32-year-old rookie cornerback" to actually thrive in the NFL.
The 11-year NBA veteran is said to be "seeking a shot" with any team in the NFL, although it was assumed that he will try out for his hometown squad of Seattle Seahawks, which he is a big fan of, as reported in the Seahawks' official website.
He announced his intentions in YouTube, saying that "If you ask people around here, they'll know. Nate Robinson, his best sport is football. And people tell me all the time, if anybody can do it, go play football, it's you".
The report said that Robinson initially enrolled at the University of Washington "on a football scholarship" and only began focusing on basketball during his sophomore year.
During his freshman year, he suited up for the Huskies football squad as a cornerback, playing in "13 football games, starting the final six at cornerback, recording two picks and 34 tackles that year".
"He knows where to be. He feels the game. The guy has what it takes to play football at the highest level," said Rick Neuheisel, his former football coach in Washington.
However, it seems like Robinson had changed his mind about joining the NFL and just continue to follow his heart in playing basketball, wherever the game may take him.
Robinson was signed by the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 16th of last year to add guard depth after injuries ravaged the squad's backcourt. He played just two games and did not score before he was waived just 13 days later.
Last season, he appeared in 33 games for the Denver Nuggets, averaging 5.8 points and 2.3 assists in only 14.1 minutes of playing time, and nine games for the Los Angeles Clippers, where he averaged 5.1 points and 2.2 assists in 14.0 minutes a night.
