Former NBA guard Austin Rivers recently ruffled some feathers when he declared that at least 30 NBA players could successfully make the jump to the NFL — while saying that 30 NFL players would not be able to transition to the NBA. The comments have been heavily criticized, but Rivers may have been proven right during the latest slate of NBA playoff games.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes turned up to support the Dallas Mavericks during their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, and one of Mahomes‘ takeaways from the tight game is that one of the Thunder‘s players might actually have the brawn and the physique to switch sports successfully.

Mahomes is a Lu Dort fan

During the first half of Game 3, Mahomes turned from his courtside seat to veteran NBA commentator Hubie Brown and said that Thunder small forward Lu Dort could be an NFL running back or even a linebacker if he wanted to be — high praise for the once-unheralded Dort, who has made a name for himself in Oklahoma City.

Dort, who stands 6’4” and weighs in at 220 pounds, has a running back-style build but would be a little too tall to play the position. The Montreal native would probably have to bulk up even more to play linebacker — but the fact that Dort is wowing someone like Mahomes speaks for itself, and for the work the former Arizona State star has done in the gym.

Dort played only one season at ASU before he signed with the Thunder as an undrafted free agent in 2019, so he has three seasons of NCAA eligibility remaining if he ever decided to pause his basketball career and change sports while finishing his degree program. But Dort has two seasons and $34 million remaining on a five-year contract he signed with the Thunder in 2022, meaning it’s rather unlikely that the 25-year-old will want to change careers — despite Mahomes‘ praise.