Ever heard the term, 'basketball background' during an AFL match?

We have too.

Long-time AFL commentator Anthony Hudson first made the call way back in 2006, when Collingwood champion Scott Pendlebury made his debut in Round 10 against Brisbane.

After taking a mark from a Nathan Buckley kick inside 50 during the second term, Pendlebury, with his first kick in football (now he has over 5000) slotted his first goal.

During the call, on-lookers can hear Hudson say: "First kick in AFL footy, he's had a couple of handballs... big raps, big basketball background... he joins the club."

Between then and now, there's been a host of AFL stars who have drawn a similar line and now there's an NBA star who is leaving that dream door slightly ajar.

Australia's New Orleans Pelicans representative Dyson Daniels, who hails from Bendigo, has made it public that he'd love to return to his home country and "play some footy".

Speaking on sports podcast The Howie Games, hosted by media personality, Mark Howard, Daniels did not rule out living another one of his dreams after making it to the highest level of basketball.

“I would love to come back and play some footy if something happens with basketball, I love my footy, I love going to watch it, I've been to a few games since I've been home, I'm a big footy guy,” Daniels said.

“I had a pretty good junior career… I didn't want to give footy up. I loved footy so much, I always say, if my basketball career doesn't work out, if I still have a little in me in the end I want to come back and play some footy.

“I was definitely a mobile big, I liked to play in the ruck or ruck rover. I could go forward and kick a couple of goals every now and then.

“I was a lot skinnier; I didn't have that football body, I was more an ‘in the air' type of player. I couldn't kick, couldn't hit a target, just got it forward, as long as the ball was moving forward that's all that mattered.”

Daniels is a diehard Richmond supporter and has been seen at multiple AFL games.

According to statistician Draft Guru, there have been 30 players who have played at high levels of basketball either in Australia or around the world, inclusive of Carlton small forward Matt Owies and Port Adelaide's Ivan Soldo.

Ben Simmons and Christian Petracca represented Victoria in the under-16 Australian Junior Championships.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald
Ben Simmons and Christian Petracca represented Victoria in the under-16 Australian Junior Championships.
Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

Outside those 30, players like Pendlebury, who were junior prospects before going down the path of AFL, include Melbourne's Christian Petracca and Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli, with the pair playing representative games.