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As the NBA regular season ramps up, the NFL is wrapping up it’s postseason. Last weekend, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes dueled like two opposing NBA superstars with a trip to the Conference Finals on the line.

Mahomes took the last shot, and didn’t miss. His buzzer-beater-esque throw to Travis Kelce in overtime pushed his team to yet another AFC Conference Championship game.

NFL Hall-of-Famer Troy Aikman likened Mahomes late-game playoff heroics in overtime to that of two Lakers greats on The Ringer's Ryen Russillo podcast.

“The quarterback [position] now is impacting games at a level that we have not seen seen before. Like a Lebron James or a Kobe Bryant does, or did, in basketball.”

Aikman’s larger point that was even in football, which many consider to be the ultimate team sport, Mahomes and other elite quarterbacks can now take over the game in crunch time like NBA superstars.

“These [football] games all come down to the last five minutes and in that sense, it’s a lot like basketball too.”

Mahomes, like Kobe, won his first championship early on in his career. Despite their age and experience, both quickly established themselves as two of the best players in their respective leagues.

Mahomes won his first Super Bowl at 24. Kobe won his first NBA Finals at 21.

LeBron James has defined his career by steering teams deep into the playoffs regardless of the supporting cast. Mahomes has dragged some of the most pitiful defenses in football to the conference championship, if not the Super Bowl.

LeBron appeared in eight straight NBA Finals. On Sunday, Mahomes will play in his fourth straight AFC Conference Championship.

In this writer’s opinion, Mahomes still needs a few more rings to fully reach Kobe-LeBron status.

However, he can already take over a game like two of the NBA’s greatest players.