If Lewis Hamilton played basketball: point guard, rated 81

Lewis Hamilton as a basketball player: scouting report

Lewis Hamilton has won seven Formula One world championships, level with Michael Schumacher for the most ever, and he holds the records for career race wins and pole positions. A driver like that spends every lap managing pace, tires and traffic, which is more or less the job description of a point guard. His basketball IQ is the top mark on his card and his playmaking is next, so he controls tempo, knows when to push in transition and when to slow it down and run a set.

He is quick, too. Athleticism grades out well, and his defense is better than you would expect from a pass first guard; drivers spend a career reacting at speed, and he would jump passing lanes the way he dives for a gap into a corner. He started karting as a boy in Stevenage and climbed every rung of junior racing before reaching Formula One with McLaren in 2007, which says a lot about how he handles a long development plan. His jumper is respectable rather than a weapon, so he scores mostly going downhill.

Rebounding is the honest soft spot, the lowest mark on his card. He would rather leak out early than crash the glass, which suits a team that loves to run. Shooting guard is a reasonable second spot, and small forward is a stretch. Pair him with a rebounding big who can make an outlet pass the moment the ball comes off the rim, add a shooter who fills the lane, and then let him set the pace for everybody else.

Plays like A fast, cerebral point guard who controls the tempo

Put Lewis Hamilton in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting five and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.