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Ever wonder who would win a battle between LeBron James and Batman? What about Steph Curry vs Pikachu? Well, now is your chance to weigh in. GoingFor2.com and our sister site ClashoftheNerds.com have teamed up to bring you a bracket challenge like no other. We take the 8 best NBA player, NFL players, comic book characters, and video game characters, and pit them against one another.
NBA Region
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
James is easily the favorite to come out of the NBA region. As the most visible and well-known NBA player worldwide since Michael Jordan, even as an older NBA player, James is at the top of his game. His Cavaliers are the favorite to represent the East in the NBA Finals this year, and if that were to happen James will have been to an unprecedented seventh straight NBA Finals.
James Harden, Houston Rockets
The current favorite to win the MVP this year, Harden will be a hard out for any player in this tournament. His team the Rockets are currently the three seed in the West after not even making the playoffs last year, and the biggest reason is Harden. He is having a career year in just about every statistical category, including leading the league in assists. He has twice had 50-plus point games as part of a triple-double this season, becoming the only NBA player in history to have accomplished that feat.
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Westbrook aka Mr. Triple-Double has an excellent shot to come out of the NBA region as he may end the season as only the second player to ever average a triple-double for a single season. He is also on pace to break the record for the most triple-doubles in a season. He and James Harden are the favorites to take home the NBA MVP this year and he could easily win this tournament as well
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
I’m on record saying that I would take Leonard No. 1 overall in a fantasy draft of all the current NBA players, but that, unfortunately, will not help him in this tournament. As one of the most humble and quietest superstars in sports, Leonard does not have the recognition as some of the other players on this list. He may be the best two-way player in the league right now, and his team is currently the one seed in the West, but in a tournament of popularity — as this tournament is — he doesn’t stand a chance.
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Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Maybe the most hated superstar in the NBA right now, Kevin Durant’s only chance to win this tournament would be if every Golden State Warrior fan voted in this bracket challenge. Which, to be honest, would be fine by me if a couple million people took this poll, but that is highly unlikely to happen meaning Durant is not likely to get out of the first round. His matchup with the aforementioned Kawhi Leonard gives him an outside shot to advance from a sheer popularity standpoint, but even then he may not make it.
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Of all the “Lower seeded” NBA players, Steph Curry has the best shot to advance. Much like LeBron James, this guy is everywhere. From TV commercials to nationally televised games, Curry is a highly marketable player who, as TV analyst Mark Jackson once said, “…has hurt the game”, because kids have started emulating how he jacks up double-digit three-pointers per game and now high-school and college players want to do the same thing. That influence he has on the youth is why he could be the one to come out of the NBA region.
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Lauded as the “next great big man” since coming into the league, Davis has been a man among boys since his rookie season and continues to get better. The biggest knock on him, and it’s a big knock, is his ability to stay healthy. The “Brow”, as he is called due to his uni-brow, also has the “small market team” detractor in that non-NBA-fans probably don’t even know who he is. My wife, who knows him only as, “the guy who needs his eyebrows plucked”, would not recognize the name despite the fact that he plays for my favorite NBA team.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
In the effort to save time, I’m going to refer to him by his nickname, the Alphabet, because spelling his name will take too long. The Alphabet stands no shot at winning this tournament and is just happy to be included in the eight selected to compete. He was nearly snubbed for the NBA all-star game because the fan voting was done on Twitter and fans couldn’t spell his name. Thank god for copy/paste, or I may have left him out of this tournament.
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NFL Region
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
In a quarterback-driven league, Rodgers is in the conversation as the best one currently playing and that is enough to make him the favorite to come out of the NFL Region. Rodgers could almost be part of the Superheroes side of this bracket with some of the miraculous throws he had made over the last few years, like the hail mary to beat the Lions, the hail-mary in the playoffs against the Giants to end the half or the ridiculous throw he made to Jared Cook to set up a game-winning FG with three seconds to go.
Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady was the poster boy of the NFL until his recent, and very public, battle with league commissioner Roger Goodell over deflated footballs. Adding fuel to the fire is this isn’t the first time the Patriots have been accused of cheating, and thusly, every non-Patriots fan will most likely vote against him. He still, however, has an excellent chance to win this tournament by the sheer number of Patriots fans there seems to be — some of them true fans and some of them bandwagoners.
Antonio Brown, Pittsburg Steelers
Brown is hands down the best wide receiver in football, and despite the controversy this past year having Facebook Live in the locker room, the Steelers still made him the highest paid wide receiver shortly after the season was done. He is the only member of Pittsburg’s “big three” to remain healthy throughout his career, and his Facebook scandal put him on the map for the non-NFL fans — which could help him in this tournament.
Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburg Steelers
Another member of the Steelers’ “big three”, Bell is the prototype of what a modern day running back should look like. He has excellent hands out of the backfield, his patience and vision are unparalleled, and his speed and acceleration are second to none. Bell’s only downside is his injury history, as he has only played a complete 16-game season once in his four-year career. He would be a long-shot to win this tournament even if every Steeler fan voted, simply because his teammate, Antonio Brown, would get more votes from Steeler fans.
Odell Beckham, New York Giants
OBJ is one of the most polarizing figures in the NFL right now. From his “catch heard round the world“, to his antics with a kicking net, to the infamous boat trip, Beckham finds his name in the news for more than his play on the field. In most cases, those off-the-field things would be a bad thing, but in the case of this tournament it could end up helping him advance to the next round because everyone knows who he is.
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
If not for the 25-point collapse of the Falcons in this year’s Super Bowl, Jones would be a household name for some of the catches he made in that game in crucial moments. Unfortunately, the blown lead is all anyone one wants to talk about and therefore he stands little chance to make it out of the NFL region. A first round matchup with the much more popular Antonio Brown should seal his fate in Round One.
David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals
The biggest knock on DJ to make it past the first round is his limited body of work. He is the next big thing in the NFL, but unfortunately, this tournament is for the here and now, and Johnson just doesn’t have the resume these other guys do and he will see an early exit from this tournament.
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
Gronk has the best chance to pull off an upset with his off-the-field persona and larger than life personality. In a league once dubbed the “No Fun League (NFL)” Gronk has found a way to make it fun. Gronk seems to show up everywhere, from nightclubs, to talk shows, to receiving the “spoof” treatment on Saturday Night Live. He is everything that his coach, Bill Belichick is not, and we either love him for it or hate him for it.
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