HOFer Triple H chooses his list of NBA players who would be the best WWE Stars feat. Jimmy Butler
The NBA's 30 teams are filled with unique personalities. Although basketball and professional wrestling are different sports, both rely on these personalities to entertain their audiences and enhance the overall experience.
In an interview with New York Knicks stars Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson on the Roommates Show podcast, WWE’s chief content officer and Hall of Famer Paul “Triple H” Levesque revealed NBA players who he thinks will thrive as pro wrestling stars.
The 14-time world champion mentioned former MVP and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, citing his sheer size as a seven-foot big.
“Joel (Embiid), for sure. Obviously everybody is a big dude but like sort of big dude that gets how to be a big dude and has the personality to go with it,” Triple H said.
The hosts then named Houston Rockets’ Dillon Brooks and New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson to be added to the list, to which the former pro wrestler agreed.
Triple H also mentioned Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young, who impressed the WWE executive with his personality on the court when the latter watched him play in an NBA game.
“He seemed like an irritant to everybody,” Triple H said. “I remember Steph and I were there together and we were sitting and I was like ‘everything he did like on the way back, he was just sticking up somebody’s a**.”
The list concluded with Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who Brunson compared to WWE star CM Punk as they share a similar not-care-a-jot vibe. Like Punk, Butler prides himself on what he can do in his craft, which makes him perfect for a pro wrestling role.
“I feel like Jimmy (Butler) can be like a CM Punk. He is going to do what he wants,” Brunson said.
“That’s the thing, truly the personalities that make it or break it,” Triple H said.
Trae Young once gets into action in WWE
Trae Young once featured in one of the episodes of WWE Smackdown in 2021 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Like his character in New York, Young debuted as a villain, basking on the boost of the New York crowd, while interfering in a tag team match.
Before that appearance, Young led the Hawks to a 4-1 whipping of the Knicks in the 2021 playoffs as he drained game-winners en route to warding off New York. His performances earned him the nickname “villain Trae Young.”
Young propelled the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals that year, only to lose to eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks. This year, the Hawks occupy the seventh seed with a 14-12 record.