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IndyCar: Each Driver’s NBA Player Comparison

By Asher Fair

Jun 12, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A general view of the start of the Firestone 600 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 12, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A general view of the start of the Firestone 600 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 28, 2017; Avondale, AZ, USA; IndyCar Series driver JR Hildebrand during qualifying for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2017; Avondale, AZ, USA; IndyCar Series driver JR Hildebrand during qualifying for the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

We’ve all heard the saying that “so-and-so from this league is the so-and-so of the NBA”. Which IndyCar drivers are best represented by which NBA players?

For each full-time IndyCar driver on this list, an NBA player comparison is provided. This list takes into account things like winning races, championships, NBA MVP awards, Indy 500’s, etc. to compare IndyCar drivers with their NBA “equivalent”. This list is subjective and in no way official; these drivers have no association with these players.

Just a fair warning, some of these explanations get more in-depth than others.

We’ll start off with the smaller teams and work our way to the larger teams.

Full-Time One-Driver Teams

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Graham Rahal, the only driver driving for the team he is a part of, has had to carry the load for the Honda cars the past few seasons. He is the only Honda driver to finish in the top 5 in the championship in either of the past two seasons, and he did it in both. Russell Westbrook had to carry the load for the Thunder this season. While he did not lead them to a championship, he led them to the playoffs after a historical individual statistical season in which he averaged a triple-double. Both of these athletes know how to carry the load for a team.. . Russell Westbrook, Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder. Graham Rahal. 15. player. 149

Ed Carpenter Racing

. Anderson Varejao, Center, Golden State Warriors. JR Hildebrand. 21. player. 41. Panther Racing entered the 2011 Indy 500 having placed 2nd in the previous two seasons with Dan Wheldon. Rookie JR Hildebrand was one turn away from scoring a victory for the team in the race before he crashed, handing the win to Wheldon before finishing in 2nd. Anderson Varejao played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for 12 seasons and never won a championship with the team. He then signed with the 73-win Golden State Warriors team and lost in the championship…to the Cavaliers. Both of these athletes essentially were in a position to end a trend, but they continued that particular trend and ended another that wasn’t their goal to end.