You never thought you’d hear somebody compare Eli Manning to LeBron James — and yet, here we are.
Here’s a reasonable take comparing Eli Manning to LeBron James
Hear him out.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Monday, on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, Giants defensive tackle Damon Harrison (whose beautiful nickname is “Snacks”), compared his quarterback to the NBA’s best player, but not in the way that you’d expect.
“Eli, when you look at Eli, it’s kind of like when you look at LeBron [James],” Harrison said. “I’m not saying they’re the same, but look at Eli’s numbers. If any other quarterback would have those numbers, it would be an amazing year. But it being Eli, no one is respecting it much like we do LeBron. LeBron could average 30 [points], 15 rebounds and 12 assists and it’s like ‘he didn’t do enough.’”
Harrison’s comparison came when discussing the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2017 list, which Manning was not included on. “It makes no sense [that Manning wasn’t on the list] when at the same time we’ve got rookies from last year ... which I guess makes sense if you go off the year alone.”
That’s not so much of a hot take as it would have been if Harrison was trying to call Manning the best player in the NFL, or some type of freak athlete. Because overall, James and Manning are two very different athletes.
Eli is a fine quarterback. He’s won two Super Bowls, one against an 18-0 Patriots team in a game nobody expected the Giants to win. But we know him best for the funny faces he makes during games.
LeBron James is going to go down as one of the best basketball players to ever play the game. Some people will tell you that he already is. We’re not here to debate that though.
One thing nobody can debate is that he is one of the greatest athletes to walk the planet. In that sense, he and the youngest Manning are very different.
Manning’s not throwing down a hammer like this, or making a play close to being nearly as athletic. Which is fine.
James is a monster athlete who most people on the planet could never envision being like. Manning is not. They both put up performances that can go underappreciated because more is expected out of them for being better than the average player in their respective sports.
Based on that, Eli Manning and LeBron James are similar. But that’s it.
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