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Deion Sanders nearly played NBA game for Hawks

Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports

Deion Sanders ranks among the greatest two-sport athletes of all time, having played in both the Super Bowl and World Series.

In an interview with SI Now's Maggie Gray, the NFL Hall of Famer revealed he almost added a third professional sport to his resume.

"I was close, I mean really close. This is a breaking story. I was really close to playing for the Atlanta Hawks for one game," Sanders said. "When I was with the Braves... (Stan Kasten) was going to allow me to play in an NBA game so that I could play three professional sports."

While Sanders never ended up playing for the Hawks, it wasn't for a lack of confidence.

"I convinced (Kasten) that I could get him 10 points," Sanders said. "I was going to get two steals, all right? And I could make the layups, so that was four (points). I was going to get to the free throw line, and I was going to hit one out of two free throws. I know me - I'm not going to hit both of them. So I got seven. And just by being in the right place at the right time, I was going to get another two. Now I just gotta pray for one more and I would have had 10."

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