"Ja Morant without the guns" - Fans chip in opinions on Houston Texans' CJ Stroud's equivalent in NBA
NFL rookie CJ Stroud continues to impress heading into the end of the first part of the season, getting high praise from football fans. Stroud was unstoppable on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and led the Houston Texans to a 39-37 come-from-behind victory.
On X (formerly Twitter), Legion Hoops asked basketball fans to name Stroud's equivalent in the NBA and their answers included some of the league's stars.
"Ja morant without the guns lol."
"Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) and it ain’t even close."
"Brandon Miller, both rookies and 2nd overall picks."
"LeBron bc this kid the goa.t"
"LaMelo Ball"
"Wemby is the obvious answer."
"Donovan Mitchell as a rookie."
"James Harden. Elite talent elite player always shows up in the biggest moments, with weaknesses around him."
LeBron James praises CJ Stroud after record performance vs. Buccaneers
CJ Stroud played a crucial role in the Houston Texans' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after trailing 20-10 early on. Stroud posted 470 yards and five touchdowns, with the 470 yards being the most passing yards in NFL history by a rookie quarterback, per ESPN.
His performance created a reaction from NBA legend and all-time scoring leader LeBron James, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to praise the NFL rookie.
"CJ Stroud. That's all," the Lakers star tweeted.
Coming off a great start to the season and exceeding expectations, Stroud has earned the respect not only of NFL fans but, first and foremost, his coach and teammates.
"You're the youngest guy in the room. It's hard to step up and talk to men who are older than you, but as I told C.J., 'Everyone here, they respect you,' and they look up to him because they see, first and foremost, the type of player that he is," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said, via ESPN.
"They see the plays that he is able to make. And when they see what he can do, guys want to play for him."
At the same time, he understands that not all people will like him and learns how to handle criticism.
"Everybody is going to have something to say, regardless of what’s going on and how people look at the truth. Just like we have a job, the media has a job to write stories and get people to tune in. I think stories are being written about Ohio State quarterbacks that are not necessarily true," Stroud said, via USA Today.
"For me, there’s a million things out there that are clickbait and stuff like that. But it’s my job to go out there and prove that wrong and try to prove that we’re getting prepared the right way at Ohio State. I think we’ve had a sort of a short stick."
If he continues to play like that, CJ Stroud can have an illustrious career in the NFL.