NBA superstar LeBron James took to social media to heap praise on Brock Purdy as he led the San Francisco 49ers past the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
On Saturday, the 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 as Purdy threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 49ers past their NFC West rivals. The win means the 23-year-old has become the first rookie quarterback to win on his first postseason start since Russell Wilson did so with the Seahawks back in 2012.
Purdy is the reigning ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ after he was selected with the 262nd and final pick of the seventh round in the 2022 NFL Draft - but he could well be the most relevant quarterback in football on current form. The 49ers are unbeaten since Purdy took the reins with the rookie currently going 6-0.
Purdy’s path has been remarkable, transitioning from third-string quarterback to starter as the replacement when sophomore Trey Lance and veteran Jimmy Garoppolo went down with respective ankle and foot injuries. He has become a superstar out of nowhere after seizing his opportunity - even Los Angeles Lakers icon James wants a piece of the quarterback.
As Purdy led the 49ers to a playoff win on the back of a dominant second half showing, James could barely hide his excitement. He wrote: “PURDY GOT GAME!!!!!!”
After the game, Purdy revealed he was a fan of James and beamed with pride when informed of the four-time NBA MVP's tweet. He could hardly believe what he heard as he called the news 'sweet', 'awesome' and 'so cool'.
Purdy has impressed since stepping in at quarterback, with his poise and composure shining through despite his inexperience at this level. He has piloted an offence averaging well over 30 points per game with plenty of weapons at his disposal, including Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk as well as the NFL’s top-ranked defence.
San Francisco star linebacker Fred Warner followed James’ lead by also crediting Purdy following the remarkable win. Warner even declared the rookie was the ‘reason’ the 49ers have a shot at the Super Bowl.
“It was complimentary football at its best in the second half, Brock Purdy taking care of the football is huge for us,” Warner told NFL Network after the win over the Seahawks. “He is the reason we have a chance at the whole thing the poise, the confidence, the performances week in and week out and have been amazing.
“As a rookie you can't talk enough about the way he has come in and played I have never seen it in my whole life. I don't think anyone has done this coming in so late in the season we have to take it one game at a time and play team football.”
