Imagine being so good at something that the world labels you a legend, yet your heart secretly beats for another passion. It’s Joe Montana that we’re talking about, folks. The NFL legend who led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories and could thread a football through the eye of a needle. But what if we told you that while we were all in awe of his football wizardry, he was daydreaming about slam dunks and three-pointers?

Yep, turns out Joe had a bit of a hoops crush. Correction: Growing up, basketball was Montana’s favorite sport. And we’re not making it up. If you’ve scrolled through TikTok lately, you might have come across a video where Montana was talking about his alternate career choices.

When an interviewer asked, “Obviously, we know how legendary you are on the football field, but if you could play any other sport, what would that be? And why?” Joe Cool immediately admitted, “Oh, basketball.”

“It’s just my favorite. Growing up, it was my favorite sport. I actually thought I was going to play basketball in college, and until I got an offer from Notre Dame, and then I ended up going there.” Let’s rewind to the days before Montana became football’s Joe Cool. Even before high school, he boy was already hooked on sports, chasing any game he could get his hands on– baseball, basketball, and, of course, football.

Considering basketball was his favorite sport, Joe’s dad, Montana Sr. had started a local basketball team for him where he practiced and played for regional tournaments. The result? Well, for starters, Montana led his high school team to the 1973 WPIAL Class AAA boys’ basketball championship and earned all-state honors.

See it this way: His basketball skills were so impressive that North Carolina State even offered him a scholarship, and later sweetened the deal by allowing him to play both basketball and football. His skill-set? “I could do anything you wanted dunking-wise. I could hit it off the glass, two-handed behind the head. Any kind of dunk you want, I could do.”

But here’s the kicker—even though he had an elite basketball career during high school, Montana believes that he couldn’t have gone far as a professional player. “No,” he simply answered when asked about making it big in the NBA, while adding, “I just love the game, just fun to watch, fun to play, fun to even practice. A lot more fun to practice than football.”

But the reality is that after getting a call from Notre Dame, Joe Cool chose football as his primary sport and the rest is history. But we’re not done with this debate. No, not just yet. Because an ex-Patriots’ QB still believes that Montana would’ve been better playing hoops.

Joe Montana was a better basketball player

“Joe had an incredible ability to be cool under pressure. He was the best I’ve ever seen.” That’s Bill Walsh, Montana’s former 49ers coach, just saying what everyone already knew. The reason? Well, there were many. But perhaps the most iconic would be the Super Bowl XXIII. From trailing 16-13 with just 3:20 left on the clock, Montana produced that game-winning touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left. Final score: 20-16, 49ers win. Yet, there are some who shy away from recognizing his impact in football.

Or at least that’s what ex-Patriots QB, Scott Zolak believes. Zolak recently appeared on the Ross Tucker Podcast, where he talked about the early days of the retired quarterback. See, Zolak’s dad, Paul Zolak, was Montana’s coach during his high school career at Ringgold. As for Scott, he served as the water-boy of the team, too.

Considering Zolak had front row seats to Montana’s earlier heroics, he confidently stated, “Joe was a better basketball player than he was a football player. We got more excited going to Joe’s basketball games in high school than football,” Zolak said. “Joe was a big hooper. NC State gave him a full-ride for hoops.” 

“Joe was a little bit of a floater, but he could shoot, and he was a pretty good point guard. He could play wing, he could play point. He could move in and out. You knew he was good because people would come and watch him play.” Well, looks like fate did a number on the quarterback.

Joe Montana, now a Hall of Famer, had the last laugh, though. Wouldn’t you agree?