Q&A: After playing hoops in Israel, Nate Robinson sets sights on NFL

8:23 PM ET

Nate Robinson stays busy. A hyperactive 5-foot-9 point guard, he played 11 seasons in the NBA, most recently for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, and he now plays in Israel for Hapoel Tel Aviv.

But Robinson has bigger plans in mind. In March, he announced plans to try to play in the NFL, returning to the sport in which he starred at Seattle’s Rainier Beach High School and started seven games at cornerback as a freshman at the University of Washington before quitting football to focus on basketball.

If successful, Robinson would join legendary former Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant as the second player known to have played in both the NBA and the NFL, and the first since the 1950s. (Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham also played briefly in the NBL, one of the leagues that subsequently merged to form the NBA.)

Robinson also is an entrepreneur, having opened Nate’s Wings & Waffles in his native Seattle. Now, he has partnered with Seattle-based sock makers Strideline to create the “Strideline x Nate Robinson Pocket Sock,” which has a small pocket sewn into the side for storage. Strideline will begin a Kickstarter drive to fund the pocket sock on Saturday.

From Israel, Robinson spoke with ESPN.com about why he’s always wanted a sock with a pocket, playing overseas and his NFL aspirations.

ESPN.com: How did you first get connected with Strideline?

Robinson: My brother went to school with one of the guys, and they went to UW, and they’ve just been a fan of basketball, fans of Seattle basketball, fans of sports in general. They’re cool guys, and they work hard, and they put together a great idea with this whole pocket sock. They had this idea, and they brought it to me and asked me what I thought about it, and I said, “It’s genius.” How many people did you know growing up as kids — probably you yourself — who had money your mom gave you and you put it in your sock? Guys back in the day, we didn’t have wallets. I never kept my money in my pocket, my money always went in my sock. My key my mom gave me, I put it in my sock — whatever it was. So it was a great idea, and when they wanted to run it by me, I said, “It’s cool,” and we ran with it. We haven’t looked back ever since. It’s been pretty awesome.

ESPN.com: How much feedback did you provide during the process of designing the pocket sock?

Robinson: Great feedback. We were at their headquarters, and we were going over the designs on their computer, coming up with ideas, brainstorming. Every time I saw a different kind of material or different kind of style, I’d send it to them, and they’d get back to me ASAP. They’d run something else by me that they liked — “What are your thoughts on this?” So I’m pretty much hands-on with the whole thing. It was pretty fun, too, just to see what kind of ideas they have and come up with styles of socks. It’s been fun.

ESPN.com: As a basketball player, how important are your socks?

Robinson: Oh, man, it’s big-time. Trust me. I’ve been around where you have uncomfortable socks, and they just don’t feel right. It’s like, ‘Ugh,’ it’s like a drag. This is a game-changer. Say you’re in the hotel and you don’t want to run out of the room with your wallet. You can put your hotel room key in your sock or your money and run downstairs right quick. It’s not deactivating because you put your key by your phone. There are different perks to the whole pocket sock. I think it’s pretty cool. We’re dropping it on April 23, and it’s kind of a big deal for us.

ESPN.com: So fans can get involved by supporting the Kickstarter?

Robinson: Yeah, pretty much. Trying to push that and get that going and …

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