Former New England Patriots defensive captain Devin McCourty joined NBC Sports Boston's Kayla Burton on the debut episode of Hoopin'. The three-time Super Bowl champion showed off his basketball skills alongside Burton while speaking on a variety of topics, including the former Patriots he'd pick to play on his pick-up squad.
McCourty's starting five features his twin brother Jason and three of his most athletic ex-teammates.
"My number one overall pick would be Darius Butler. Best athlete, but can also play ball. If you ever look at his Instagram, he'll show him playing open gyms and stuff like that," McCourty said.
"I'll go Kyle Arrington. Short guy, (can) jump out of the gym. Third, I will go Jamie Collins. He'd be my versatile piece. (He can) play center, play guard. So, that would be four of us. And then last but not least, only three years as my teammate, but I've got to take my guy Jason McCourty."
Burton asked McCourty to pick a sixth man off the bench. After careful consideration, McCourty named two players and replaced Arrington with a Hall of Famer.
"Other two guys I would go Aaron Dobson and Darrelle Revis," McCourty said. "Darrelle Revis had D1 scholarship offers. ... I might have to put him in the starting lineup. I'll take out Kyle Arrington. Kyle understands. He came up under Bill Belichick. Do what's best for the team."
MORE PATRIOTS
As for the ex-teammate who probably won't get an invitation to play pick-up any time soon? That would be former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman.
"He's the worst basketball player I've ever seen, and we had to stop him from like, fighting high schoolers," McCourty told Burton. "Horrible basketball player. We're doing a charity game with high schoolers and the high schooler elbows Jules, and Jules gets the ball. From the 3-point line, he's backing the kid down. We're like, 'Jules, bro, you can't fight a high schooler. This is just not a good look.' Edelman's terrible. Horrible. Horrible."
Of course, McCourty had to find a spot on the roster for the "GOAT," but the team might be better off with his son taking his spot.
"We would have (Tom) Brady as our player-coach," he said. "Dude can knock down a jump shot. Can't guard anybody, he can't do anything. ...
"His son told me he kills (Brady) now. He said, 'My dad will try to act like he can keep up, but I'll beat him every time we play.' Once that happens to you, you gotta be a player-coach. You can't just be a player anymore."
Watch the full episode of Hoopin' below to hear McCourty dish on the following topics and more:
- How playing in the NYC hoop scene made him realize football was his best path
- Favorite moments from attending Celtics games as a celebrity fan
- Brad Stevens' down-to-earth visit with the Patriots
