Devin Funchess Says Transition From NFL To Pro Basketball Isn't Hard, 'I've Been Fine!' | TMZ Sports
There's a debate goin' on that NFL players can't transition to pro basketball ... well ex-Panthers receiver/tight end Devin Funchess is doin' just that and tells TMZ Sports it's not hard at all.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome back to TMZ Sports, Mike Babcock here.
00:08This is really an absolutely awesome story.
00:11I think a lot of you probably recognize this guy as long-time NFL wide receiver Devin Funches.
00:18Devin played in the Super Bowl and had a great football career, but as we talked about a
00:22couple of months ago when Devin was on here with us, he has decided to follow that hoop
00:28dream and man, he signed a professional contract with a professional basketball league in Columbia
00:34and we're lucky enough to have Devin back with us.
00:36Devin, first of all, congratulations.
00:37How you doing, brother?
00:38Doing well.
00:39I'm doing well.
00:40Just enjoying the grind, enjoying the journey and having fun, getting my film reps up and
00:46just doing what I'm supposed to do in the basketball draft.
00:49Are you surprised at how quick this has all happened, Devin?
00:52I think it was November when we talked and this was all really new at that time.
00:55Now you're playing for a legit professional basketball team.
00:59Are you surprised?
01:00I am.
01:01I thought I was going to be in Australia for the rest of the year, but God bless for the
01:05opportunity down in Latin America and just taking everything in and getting my reps up,
01:12getting in the weight room, just staying locked in, understanding that positions are positions
01:17and I have to feel my role on the court and understand the spacing and everything else
01:22that comes with it.
01:23How quick has it all come back to you because you played football for so long and that was
01:26obviously your focus.
01:28Has it been a hard adjustment?
01:31Has the talent and ability just come back to you quick?
01:33How has that been switching from football to basketball?
01:37I've just been fine.
01:38I was very versatile up at the University of Michigan.
01:41I came in, played a tight end position, then moved out to wide receiver.
01:46So it's just that versatility from football and understanding that football is more a
01:52game within a game.
01:54Obviously basketball is too, it's a chess game, but football is more complex.
01:59So understanding where this person is, where this person is, where this person is, is about
02:03to take your head off.
02:04So just that versatility that I got from the game and playing the two positions on offense
02:09has just been a blast for me and just the spacing on the basketball court is just a
02:12little bit smaller.
02:13So understanding the gaps that I have to shoot, staying ready to shoot and just being ready
02:18at all times.
02:19Where do you hope to go from here?
02:21You're in Australia.
02:22You get the job with the Professional League in Columbia.
02:25What's the goal now?
02:26You're still only 29 years old, which is kind of crazy.
02:29You've got a lot of athletic prime in front of you.
02:35Just get to the D-League tryouts.
02:37Get to the D-League tryouts, one with the Ontario Clippers and then the Charlotte Swarm
02:43or the Greensboro Swarm.
02:45So get to those competition levels.
02:48I've played with Mike Beasley, John Wall and everybody else, Maurice Stoudemire, all
02:55those guys down in Miami.
02:58So it's just playing against those level talent guys, getting back to the American culture
03:03of basketball, having fun, getting into those markets, the Charlotte market, which welcomed
03:09me into the NFL.
03:11So get back over there with some great family and then the L.A. market, which the owner
03:17is basically a Michigan alum.
03:19So just having those connections and having those opportunities, just staying on it and
03:24making sure that I'm ready to go.
03:26Is the NBA still the ultimate goal and do you think that that is achievable as you sit
03:31here today?
03:32I forget his name, but it was a guy who played lacrosse over in Northwestern that he didn't
03:41play at Northwestern.
03:42He ended up walking onto the basketball team at Northwestern and then Golden State gave
03:45him an opportunity.
03:46He did two years on the G League and then they finally called him up.
03:50And I've just been watching his progression and seeing everything that he went through.
03:55So just saying, I want to go against the best guys in the world.
03:59I'm not saying that it's going to happen right now, but that's my ultimate goal, just to
04:03go against the best players in the world, which is in the NBA.
04:06That's why they call those guys world champions.
04:09And then I've played and been a part of some leagues around the world, around everywhere.
04:14So it's just Japan had a nice thing going on, the NBA has a nice thing going on as well,
04:20but I ultimately just want to go against the best guys in the world, fulfill that dream.
04:24I used to watch Space Jam all the time, saw Michael Jordan do his thing.
04:29So just want to get that feeling and that dream accomplished and then from there, however
04:35long the tenure will be in the NBA, I know that there's leagues all over the place and
04:41some people that I can impact in the next generation.
04:43Well, it's been incredible to watch.
04:45I mean, you know, shoot, just playing in the NFL alone, but to have been an NFL player
04:50and now to play professional basketball is incredible.
04:52Devin, congratulations, you know, keep wishing you success and we'll obviously be following
04:58the journey, man.
04:59No, I appreciate you guys.