Al Harrington reveals why he initially wanted to play in the NFL instead of the NBA: "My dream scenario, play for Notre Dame and then for the New York Giants"

Over the years, we have seen players who played a particular sport in high school or college only to go pro in another. Former NBA player Albert Harrington didn’t initially have the NBA as his first choice of career, making his journey as a long-time basketball star even more fascinating.

Initial football dream

Growing up in Orange, New Jersey, Harrington, like most kids, loved playing different kinds of outdoor activities and sports. For many kids, the dream was to play in the big leagues—the NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL.

The former Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks player power forward was one of the many who chose football as their primary aspiration, and speaking on Mark Jackson’s “Come And Talk 2 Me” podcast, Harrington reveals that he initially had a roadmap for his football career.

“Sports was just something I love,” he said . “At that time, I thought that I was going to go to the NFL. My dream scenario was that I would go to Notre Dame and then play for the New York Giants. But once I moved from Orange, all of that changed, and basketball became more relevant for me.”

When Al left Orange for Roselle, New Jersey, he played high school basketball and became a prep-to-pro athlete after a solid senior year. He won the 1998 McDonald’s All-American and the USA Today and Gatorade National Player of the Year awards.

Limitations to the dream

Drafted 25th overall by the Pacers in 1998, 18-year-old Al never played college football, ultimately discovering that basketball was his true path to a pro career.

He also recalled how almost every kid in his neighborhood loved sports while growing up. If they weren’t playing basketball on the concrete, they’d be flipping skateboards in parks, and a young Harrington always took part in those activities, hoping to get in shape for his football dream. However, he had some limitations to his ultimate dream.

“I was always too big to play football because that was always what I wanted to play part one of. But during that time… it was always like an age restriction, and I was always too heavy to be able to play. So I wasn’t able to play any organized sports until I was in seventh grade, and that was the only time I was able to play football,” Harrington added.

At nearly 7 feet tall, Al had the physique of an NBA big man rather than a football player. When his football dream faded, he pivoted to basketball, and it paid off—despite spending most of his career as a sixth man, he enjoyed 16 productive seasons in the big boys league.

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