Super Bowl, NBA Stars Share More Similarities Than Many Think

The Super Bowl kicks off Sunday at 6:30 p.m., and all eyes will be on the NFL. While the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks were built in different ways, there are similarities between their players and NBA players. From the quarterbacks leading the offense to the defensive backs looking to pick them off, there is a comparison across sports for the stars of the Super Bowl.

The comparisons are mostly based on this season, with a couple exceptions. Some are related by play style, some by career path and some by both. Let’s start with the position who leads the team.

Quarterbacks

Drake Maye finished this season second in MVP voting, taking the leap from a rookie last year into a superstar this year. At just 23 years old, the future is bright for Maye. He will still look to add a Super Bowl win to his resume, an expectation of a quarterback that plays in title town.

Staying in the same city, another star blossomed in his age 23 season. Jayson Tatum finished sixth in MVP voting and made All-NBA first team for the first time. In the playoffs, Tatum led the Celtics to the NBA finals, where they came up just short against the Golden State Warriors, losing in six games. 

Maye will look for a different result, but his early career arc has mirrored that of Tatum. A few other fun comparisons include that both have a family member who has stepped into the public spotlight during their playoff run. 

For Tatum, it was his son Deuce, who would be seen courtside at Celtics games. For Maye, it is his wife Ann Maye, who went viral on Instagram with her “bakemas” posts. 

Both players also have fun nicknames that started out as a joke. Maye is known as Drake “Drake Maye” Maye, while Tatum has been dubbed The Anomaly.

Maye’s Super Bowl counterpart features Sam Darnold, whose career has not been nearly as smooth as Maye’s. Darnold has done well to lead Seattle to the big game, but his career was not always on this trajectory.

Drafted No. 3 in 2018 to the New York Jets, it appeared Darnold would never find his footing in the NFL. Three seasons with the Jets never amounted to anything, and was followed by three teams in the next four years as he went from Carolina to San Francisco to Minnesota. In Minnesota, he began to showcase the talent that led to him being drafted third. 

Now he is at the helm in Seattle, but do not be confused, he is not the star of this team. The defense has played incredibly well, not to mention the fact that he is throwing the ball to Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba. 

“Sam Darnold’s a real good quarterback and can make every throw,” said Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez in the lead up to the Super Bowl.

Let’s compare this to another former third overall pick to New York.

RJ Barrett was drafted to the Knicks in 2019, and played four seasons before being traded to the Toronto Raptors. While his counting stats have not changed as much as Darnold’s, he is now a contributor on a surprise contender just like Darnold. 

Barrett will look to emulate the success of Darnold as the NBA season continues. The Seahawks were not a team many predicted to go far at the start of the season, as with the Raptors, but now they are in the Super Bowl. The Raptors will hope their surprising start leads them to the Finals.

Defensive Backs

Both teams have played shutdown defense through the playoffs, and both have a cornerback that opposing quarterbacks look to avoid. In New England, it’s Christian Gonzalez, while Devon Witherspoon takes the spotlight in Seattle.

These two corners have different playstyles, and thus different comparisons. Gonzalez is a ball hawk known for his man coverage skills. Witherspoon is a physical player, getting in on run stuffs and racking up tackles. This is not to say that each of them struggle in these areas. Gonzalez brought down Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry on a play, while Witherspoon picked off Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The comparison for Gonzalez is Oklahoma Thunder guard Cason Wallace. Wallace fits with Gonzalez because of his innate ability to take the ball away. Deflections and steals are where Wallace makes his money, just like Gonzalez with picks and pass breakups. The biggest difference between these two is that Wallace has increased his steal count in each season of his career, while Gonzalez has seen his team go to more zone coverage and thus decreased his interception count.

Witherspoon on the other hand fits with a more physical, scrappy player. Donte DiVincenzo of the Minnesota Timberwolves is a player who will make the highlight plays, but also scrap for loose balls. That is the NBA equivalent of a defensive back who gets their nose dirty and tackles. DiVincenzo will occasionally go off and score 20 points on offense, similarly to how Witherspoon is able to create the occasional turnover.

One more player in the secondary who has a fun comparison is Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori. A rookie out of South Carolina, Emmanwori has been a valuable contributor for Seattle as a second-round pick. For this comparison, let’s take a player he shared a college campus with. 

Collin Murray-Boyles played just one season at South Carolina before declaring for the NBA draft, where he was selected ninth by the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors line up so well with the Seahawks, as both teams have exceeded preseason expectations. Murray-Boyles has played about 22 minutes per game, averaging eight points and five rebounds. His contributions have been a big help for the Raptors, the same as Emmanwori with the Seahawks.

The physicality and toughness of Murray-Boyles was on display on Thursday in a win over the Bulls. He showed NFL levels of grit as he played through a thumb injury, with coach Darko Rajavoić saying in his post game press conference “I give him a lot of credit, playing through all of that.”

Skill Positions

Continuing the theme of rookies, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson has seen a fluctuation of his work load. He had solid counting stats in the regular season, going for 911 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. He has slowed in the postseason, picking up just 57 yards across three games. For this comparison we have to look at his college days at Ohio State.

While at Ohio State, Henderson shared a backfield with Quinshon Judkins. Judkins was drafted just before Henderson to the Cleveland Browns. Now in the NBA, one of the stars in a talented 2025 rookie class is Dylan Harper. Harper shared the court at Rutgers with Ace Bailey, who went right behind him. Henderson has similarities with Harper in more than just their college teammates’ success.

Both players have had fluctuations in their performance. Henderson has already been touched on, and all it takes is looking at the month of January for Harper to see the parallel. Across 15 games, Harper scored 20 or more twice, went between 15-19 twice, had two other games in double-figures and was held below five points four times.

Harper’s minutes are inconsistent as he shares the back court now with De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle. Henderson is sharing touches with Rhamondre Stevenson. Both players have bright futures ahead of them, and are already contributing to winning ball as rookies.

For Seattle, Kenneth Walker III has been the driving force on the ground ever since Zach Charbonnet went down with a torn ACL in the NFC Divisional Round. Walker responded by putting up his best game of the season with 116 yards and three scores in that game. The comparison for Walker is a real stretch, but stick with it here.

Darius Garland has struggled with a myriad of different injuries in his career, as has Walker. Garland plays, or rather played since he got traded at the deadline, with another strong guard in Donovan Mitchell. Walker plays with another strong back in Charbonnet. Garland takes another step whenever he is the clear alpha in the back court, just like Walker does when he gets free reign in the backfield.

That isn’t the strongest comparison, but the two wide receiver ones are excellent. First, let’s take a look at Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Smith-Njigba is an undersized wide receiver at just 6-feet tall, but that did not stop him from leading the NFL in receiving yards with 1,793. This allows for the comparison to Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey to be drawn. Maxey, who stands at 6-foot-‘2, is averaging 28.8 points this season, good for fifth in the NBA.

Talking with Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, it’s clear that size is not what propels Maxey to greatness. “He’s blessed with speed,” Pompey said.

Maxey is one of the fastest players in the NBA, with Pompey giving the nod to De’Aaron Fox as the only player faster. While Smith-Njigba doesn’t have the same blazing speed, his technique on route running sets him apart. 

“He’s a great player who can find a void in any defense,” said Sam Darnold in his Super Bowl press conference when asked about Smith-Njigba.

Another thing you can look at is teammates of these players. The Seahawks allowed both DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to move on after last season, opening up the door for Smith-Njigba to take over the receiver room. Pompey pointed to Nick Nurse coming in to coach the 76ers and calling Maxey his point guard as the turning point in Maxey’s ascent to stardom.

Looking at the veteran presence around them cements the comparison. For Smith-Njigba, Cooper Kupp is an experienced wide receiver who can provide boosts on the sideline and in the film room. A former triple crown winner (leading the NFL in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and receptions), Kupp has wisdom to share. For Maxey, there is Kyle Lowry.

“It’s like Kyle Lowry is kind of sort of like Maxey’s unofficial personal coach,” Pompey said.

Whenever he goes to the sideline or there is a time out, Lowry is up giving Maxey advice. A former NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry has worlds of experience to share. While Maxey has had many great teammates to learn from, notably James Harden and Joel Embiid, Lowry has the biggest impact, Pompey said. 

Flip it to a pair of veterans. There are certain players that have a gift of capturing the media’s attention. Be it through iconic photo graphs, drama within a team or even off the court/field issues. These two players epitome those gifts.

Stefon Diggs and Jimmy Butler III have so much in common that this comparison will smack you in the face once you sit and think about it. Both players have iconic photos coming up just short on the biggest stage. Butlers came while in the bubble, leaning over the backstop exhausted after carrying the Miami Heat to the Finals. Diggs was pictured watching the confetti fall on the Kansas City Chiefs after the Buffalo Bills lost in the AFC Championship.

Diggs caught the touchdown in the “Minneapolis Miracle,” while Butler famously beat the starters in a practice scrimmage while trying to get traded from Minnesota of all places. Both players have bounced around to multiple teams, while neither has won a championship. Diggs has a chance to change that on Sunday, but if he is unsuccessful the Butler comparison will grow even stronger.

Category: Atlanta Falcons, Basketball, College Basketball, College Football, Football, Miami Heat, NBA, NFL, Super Bowl