Tony Gonzalez was a Hall-of-Fame NFL player, and now he’s part of an Emmy-nominated studio show, but the former tight end believes he left an NBA career on the table.
Gonzalez joined The Dan Patrick Show on Monday morning to discuss Week 1 of the NFL season, and during the interview, the Thursday Night Football analyst was asked about his brief NBA career. More than two decades ago, Gonzalez played on the Miami Heat’s summer league team, where he scored three points on 1-7 shooting, collecting 11 rebounds in 29 minutes over two games. But three points in two games against summer league opponents were all Gonzalez needed to know he could have played in the NBA.
“People say, ‘You think you could’ve played in the NBA?’ I’m like, after that experience, absolutely I could’ve played.”
– Pro Football HOF TE @TonyGonzalez88 on his experience playing with the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League. pic.twitter.com/xYdzjlSJLY
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) September 8, 2025
“People say, ‘You think you could’ve played in the NBA?’ I’m like, after that experience, absolutely I could’ve played,” Gonzalez said. “I wouldn’t have started, probably. Cause 1-7, I would have made that three or four for seven, and I still would have gotten those rebounds. So, I would have worked myself, my jump shot would have been a little bit better.”
Gonzalez played for Miami’s 2002 summer league team while in the middle of a contract dispute with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Gonzalez, he was limited to just two games because the Chiefs asked Miami not to play him too much, implying they planned to work out a contract to keep him in the NFL. Ultimately, he returned to the Chiefs and played another decade of football, but Gonzalez still believes he could have made a successful jump to the NBA.
After playing with the Heat’s summer league team and being a two-sport athlete at Cal, Patrick asked Gonzalez if he could envision having a career similar to Draymond Green’s. And while Gonzalez wouldn’t go that far, he reiterated that he could have had an impact.
“I think I could have played,” Gonzalez insisted. “There’s no doubt about it, I know I could have went in the league and got you eight to 10 rebounds a game and got you eight to 10 points a game. There’s no doubt in my mind, call me crazy, I could’ve done that.”
One person who wouldn’t call Gonzalez crazy, however, is Pat Riley. Asked about Gonzalez’s basketball potential more than a decade ago, Riley said the Hall-of-Fame NFL tight end could have been a 10-year pro in the NBA, adding that he was “at times, dominant in practice” with Miami’s summer league team.
It’s hard to argue with Riley, one of the best head coaches and executives in NBA history. Maybe Gonzalez really could have carved out a successful NBA career. And who knows, perhaps he would be preparing to join Amazon’s NBA coverage right now instead of beginning his fourth season with their Thursday Night Football studio show. Just don’t ask Tony if he could have played baseball, too.