National Basketball Association

Which veteran Laker additions would make the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Updated Sep. 29, 2021 8:21 p.m. ET

Finding the intersectionality between different sports is difficult.

Sports connoisseurs come across this problem on a regular basis when evaluating their rankings of the greatest athletes to ever live, but that doesn't mean people won't try to accomplish it.

Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe did exactly that on Wednesday's episode of "Undisputed."

Amidst the headlines surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers and their new-look compilation of household basketball names, Bayless and Sharpe evaluated the core group's extensive list of accomplishments and measured them on a football scale to determine whether they would meet the criteria for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Who better to judge that determination than a man who has already received his gold jacket and bronze bust for enshrinement into the NFL's most exclusive club? Sharpe knows exactly what it takes to reach immortal status in football, and he and Bayless went in-depth to dissect the eligibility of some of L.A.'s finest.

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Sharpe made one prerequisite clear in the discussion: "Our [the NFL's] Hall of Fame doesn't take into account what you did in college, if you played overseas, in the Olympics. What you did in the NFL — that's the only thing that matters."

That said, let's get right into it.

Carmelo Anthony

Accolades: 10x All-Star, 2× All-NBA Second Team, 4x All-NBA Third Team, NBA scoring champion (2013), 10th all-time in scoring (27,370 points)

Bayless' thoughts: "Carmelo's record in the playoffs is 28-55. He's 3-13 in playoff series and 2-11 in the first round. He got to one conference finals, way back in 2008, and they lost to the Lakers in six. That résumé, if I put it in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it's highly debatable. He's not going to be first-ballot."

Sharpe's thoughts: "I think it's all dependent on the position that you play. If you base it on quarterback with those numbers, he's probably not going to get in. But if you look at some of the other positions, if you're a 10-time Pro Bowl player or a four-time first-team All-Pro, if you're not a QB, those numbers are going to be good enough to get you into the Hall of Fame. You could make a case that's a Calvin Johnson career."

Dwight Howard

Accolades: NBA champion (2020), 8x All-Star, 5x All-NBA First Team, All-NBA Second Team, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 4x All-Defensive First Team, 5x rebounding leader, 2x blocks leader

Sharpe's thoughts: "First ballot. It's over and done. That's J.J. Watt. When you look at what he's done, he was the preeminent big man of his generation. His first decade made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Bayless' thoughts: "He's 63-62 in the playoffs and 1-1 in the Finals. The one ring that he did win, he played a grand total of 12 minutes a game for the Lakers. He definitely had a role, and it was a significant role, but he was not a high-minutes starter. Since 2016, he's been on seven different teams. Is that a first-ballot Hall of Famer?"

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Rajon Rondo

Accolades: 2x champion, 4x All-Star, All-NBA Third Team, 2x All-Defensive Team, 2x All-Defensive Second Team, 3x assists leader, steals leader (2010)

Sharpe's thoughts: "I don't know if he gets in on the first ballot. You win two championships on two different teams. He was a factor in both of those championships. When he was with the Celtics, they said ‘Big 3,’ but it was a ‘Big 4.’ He was a heavy contributor. You've got to look at what he did when he was in Boston."

Bayless' thoughts: "It felt like he was hitting the wall last year for the Clippers. I believe they decided that he's just getting old. He's not that guy anymore. He's been with eight different franchises. Why would he bounce around that much if he's a slam-dunk Hall of Famer?"

Russell Westbrook

Accolades: NBA MVP, 9x All-Star, 2x All-NBA First Team, 5x All-NBA Second Team, 2x All-NBA Third Team, 2x scoring champion, 3x assists leader

Bayless' thoughts: "He has proven to be nothing more than a solo act. He is a stat machine. Is he a winning machine? He got to one Finals with the Thunder. He flamed out in the games at Miami. He's now 55-56 in the postseason. Without Kevin Durant, he's 8-21. Kevin Durant infamously said, ‘I just can’t win a championship with him as our primary decision-maker.' We saw it happen with James Harden, Paul George. Is Russell Westbrook a winning player?"

Sharpe's thoughts: "He's like a running back with four rushing titles. A running back with [those numbers] is going to the Hall of Fame whether they win a championship or not. He's been an All-NBA player, an MVP and a scoring champ. Four times he's averaged a triple-double. The case is closed!"

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You can check out the full debate below:

Shannon Sharpe: If the Lakers stay healthy, they're winning the NBA championship I UNDISPUTED

The Los Angeles Lakers held their media day Tuesday, and fans are already excited about this photo shoot that showcases the stacked talent on the roster.

For more up-to-date news on all things "Undisputed," click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!