Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is headed to the NBA … All-Star weekend.
The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year will compete in the NBA All-Star Celebrity game this weekend alongside Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons. Stroud has experience in basketball, too, after he played on the varsity team for Rancho Cucamonga High School as a junior.
Stroud’s highlights are pretty incredible, and he recalled a game he played against now-Miami Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. in high school. Stroud told Parsons on his podcast that he put up 40 points against Jaquez Jr., although those numbers may have been a bit embellished.
C.J. Stroud says he dropped 40 points on Jaime Jaquez in HS 👀
(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/vfkOZB3UfJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2024
In reality, Stroud scored 28 points in that game, according to his high school basketball coach, Bill Burke. He told The Sporting News that although Stroud didn’t drop 40 points, he was the second-leading scorer on the team that year.
“He was on fire that game,” Burke said. “If he had just played basketball, he was a DI basketball kid.”
Instead, Stroud went to Ohio State to play football and ended up being drafted No. 2 overall by the Texans in 2023, leading Houston to the AFC South title and a first-round playoff win and taking home OROY.
Stroud will get a chance to relive his glorious basketball days in front of millions this weekend in Indianapolis. He’s already an ascendent NFL quarterback and has the fourth-best odds to win MVP in 2024, per BetMGM. Now, he’ll get to showcase his basketball talent.
