Yesterday, 11 year NBA vet Pat Connaughton was waived by the Hornets and cleared waivers, signifying the likely end of his career. At one point, the former 4th round MLB draft pick was leaning towards that path, and he has indicated wanting to aim for the MLB after his NBA career ended
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=connau000pat
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/connapa01.html
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JGKbyqbW7H0
This sounds like a joke, but I don’t think it is. In 2014, he was one of the top prospects in the Orioles organization, had a 2.45 ERA in single A during his one summer in the minors, and had a consistent fastball in the mid 90s. The Orioles let him return for his last year of college basketball, and he surprised them by turning it into a second round NBA draft selection and an 11 year career.
In 2021, after helping the Bucks win a title, in an interview with Dan Patrick, he indicated that playing in the MLB was still strongly on his mind.
“I told Christian Yelich that in eight years maybe I’ll be pitching with him on the Brewers and trying to win a World Series,” Connaughton said at the time. “I haven’t given up on that dream. I still take the time to throw in the offseason - it’s a mental release for me.”
Now, my understanding is that Connaughton is worth hundreds of millions through real estate combined with his NBA career, and maybe he doesn’t feel the same desire, or the same sense of something to prove as he did five years ago. But it would be an incredible end of his sports story if he pulls it off - decade long NBA vet, champion, MLB player. It would be a dual sport accomplishment not really seen in the last 30 years.