Who do you think is the most athletic player in the history of the NBA?

[NumberSix]

I'd say MJ, but I'd also guess that he was pumping PED's like a muff***a

[guy]

Jordan.

By all accounts, he was incredibly strong for his size. He could not be denied.

We all have seen how quick and agile he is, and he has incredible body control while in the air.

Everyone knows about his leaping ability.

Then, you have to consider that his hands are one of his best basketball assets. It was probably incredibly hard to strip him of the ball once he dug his talons in.

Lebron might be stronger, just as quick, might jump just as high, might be taller and larger... but Jordan's gracefulness puts him over the top for me. His body control in all aspects of the game was incredible. It's this gracefulness that allowed him to transfer all of his athleticism to the basketball court.

Lebron still looks clumsy at times.

This. Jordan's body control is worlds ahead of Lebron.

[Dagouch]

Of today of course Lebron.

I really like Westbrook tho.

[lbj23clutch]

Chuck and MJ

Seriously, Chuck was just as once in a lifetime athlete as Bron was. I've seen him do stuff and you forget how short and heavy he was at times, cause he could dunk it as easily and as powerful as a 6'10 player, yet move like a 6'2 guard at times.

I think Bron gets slightly overrated because of his playing 'style'. My only knock on him is his lack of balance and agility. He's not very agile and at times appears to be robotic.

MJ like some mentioned is pound for pound just as strong as Bron, can jump high, is cat like quick with cat like reflexes, extraordinary agility, coordination and balance etc.etc. I've yet to see other players do some of the stuff that he's done specially while in the air. Oh.... and STAMINA. There probably has never been anybody with his kind of stamina.

And did somebody mention Kobe?

Lack of balance? LOL LeBron rarely gets knocked down when he drives to the basket. Dude always stays standing no matter how much contact he gets while driving hard to the basket, it's ridiculous. His balance, coordination, speed and strength is the reason why many experts believe LeBron would be an excellent football player. And LeBron in his Cleveland days was as quick as they come. He's lost a lot of agility though since joining the heat due to age and added weight.



NFL players, coaches, trainers, scouts on LeBron's athletic ability and as a football player.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4194437

Mark Murphy hasn't merely witnessed the finest receivers of his generation. He has experienced them.

Murphy's 11-year career at strong safety was good enough to get him into the Green Bay Packers' Hall of Fame. He has covered, tackled and occasionally been scorched by legends.

On the subject of greatness, he knows what he's talking about.

"I've been around a lot of great receivers," Murphy said. "I tell people that I rate my top receivers -- coaching, playing or watching -- as James Lofton, Jerry Rice, Steve Largent and LeBron James."

Murphy wasn't delivering a joke or some abstract concept. He meant James, the NBA superduperstar, simply was that spectacular on a football field. Murphy saw it as the defensive coordinator at James' alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.

James was an all-state receiver as a sophomore and junior, setting records that still stand. He gave up football as a senior to become a multimillion-dollar, teenage basketball corporation.

"People laugh at me, but it's true," Murphy said of placing James in the same class as three Pro Football Hall of Famers. "The kid had everything you could want.

"I felt like that was one kid that could have gone from high school to the NFL and played."

"I think LeBron could come in and do better than Antonio Gates," New England Patriots receiver Randy Moss said. "LeBron James is the athlete that comes around every so often.

"He's at a point in his career where the things that he does are something we haven't seen before. … It's just very rare for athletes to be able to do the things that he does to entertain and wow us night in and night out."

"From my perspective, the best athletes in the world play in the NBA," University of Akron football coach J.D. Brookhart said. "Look at what Gates did. He was a pretty good basketball player athletically, but LeBron's world class."

Brookhart is known as one of the country's best receivers coaches. His previous gig was at the University of Pittsburgh, where he worked with Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant. One of his first roster decisions at Akron was switching another future NFLer, Domenik Hixon, from safety to receiver.

"It's not very hard to tell at all how good of a football player LeBron would be," Brookhart said. "Had he pursued it, I think he'd be an All-Pro receiver.

"With that body and skills that he has, I think even if he wasn't a 4.4 or 4.5 speed guy -- and I'm not so certain he wouldn't be that -- he would pose absolutely unwinnable matchups out there."

Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees has been aware of James' football skills for years and knows plenty about Gates.

Pees recruited Gates to play linebacker at Michigan State and was head coach at Kent State when Gates was there. Kent is 17 miles from St. Vincent-St. Mary.

"You look at it and you'd have to say, having seen Tony Gonzalez and seen Antonio Gates, that the guy definitely could have played," Pees said of James. "He was a phenomenal athlete. If he wanted to play football, he certainly could've."

"A lot of those basketball players, they can't run," Parcells said. "They don't have legitimate speed. This kid's pretty amazing, though."

James finished his junior season with 57 receptions for 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns, propelling St. Vincent-St. Mary to the state semifinals. James also played prevent safety and often quarterbacked the scout team. Murphy said James could throw a football 70 yards.

"The physical tools were overwhelming," Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson said. Williamson was a recruiter for Pitt and followed Brookhart to Akron as football operations director before joining the Cleveland Browns' scouting department. "He really stood out. He made you think 'Wow.' But you don't get too enamored because you know he's the best basketball player in the world."

Pees took a similar approach with James. It was foolish to waste precious recruiting time on an emerging basketball enterprise.

"If he went to Akron, their football program would have been top 20," said St. Vincent-St. Mary grad Chip Hilling, who saw almost all of James' games. Hilling played linebacker at Indiana University for head coaches Lee Corso, Sam Wyche and Bill Mallory. "He really was an incredible football player.

"With LeBron's athleticism, I could see him as a tight end, H-back, receiver. LeBron could wreak havoc as an outside linebacker, edge pass rusher. He's a freak."

Murphy is in agreement based on what he witnessed with eyes that have glimpsed the best.

If Murphy ranks James fourth behind only Lofton, Rice and Largent, then he's ranking James ahead of former teammates Sterling Sharpe and John Jefferson, NFC contemporaries such as Art Monk, Henry Ellard and Anthony Carter and so many others he has competed against.

"I went against Lofton every day in practice," Murphy said. "I saw all the things that he did. I saw his abilities and his running and his burst and his catching ability. It was the same thing to see the plays that Jerry Rice made and what he brought to the game.

"I was coaching LeBron in high school and I'm seeing him make plays that made me say 'Lofton did that. Rice did that.'

"He's scary. He really was a scary player."

LeBron James is a better athlete then MJ. He's much stronger, taller, has a 50- 60 pound weight advantage, yet his end to end speed is better, his balance and coordination is on par with some starting wide recievers in the NFL, and although he doesn't jump as high as MJ, he's pretty close IMO. MJ has the better body control, slightly better leaper, has bigger hands and is much more agile. But he doesn't have the combination of size, strength, and speed as LeBron. LeBron is not only a world class athlete in the NBA, but he would be a world class athlete in the NFL as stated by many NFL personnel.


And shame on you for putting Chuck over LeBron athletically . SMH Barkley was a poorman's LeBron in terms of size, speed, strength and leaping ability. Only comparison would be in strength and even at that I would give the edge to Bron. Barkley ain't even the most athletic PF. I'd say guy's like Larry Johnson, Kemp, Blake Griffin were more athletic then Chuck.

[get these NETS]

keep hearing/reading A'mare's name in this thread

never saw him as being particularly athletic..not in the kemp or young grandmama level

stat dunked on some people, but what are people basing his "athleticism" on?


kemp did reverse dunks IN GAME inside of crowded paints

lj was one of the most explosive and strong players ever

[Mr Exlax]

LeBron James.

It's not all about leaping ability. You have to take into account speed, power, etc... those two you named aren't even close.

This.

[lbj23clutch]

keep hearing/reading A'mare's name in this thread

never saw him as being particularly athletic..not in the kemp or young grandmama level

stat dunked on some people, but what are people basing his "athleticism" on?


kemp did reverse dunks IN GAME inside of crowded paints

lj was one of the most explosive and strong players ever

Did you not watch pre-injuries Amare? The past several year Amare has been a shell of himself due to injuries.

[FindingTim]

Lebron James.

weighs a Tractor Traylor, jumps like Nique, passes like Penny, runs like Barbosa, and finishes with incredible finesse and grace despite being taller and heavier than Brian Urlacher.

answer: Lebron James. Not only the best athlete in NBA history, but one of the best athletes- if not the best athlete in the history of documented mankind.

[Dictator]

westbrook, nate, drose, michael, wilt? shaq? Didn't shaq have 36+ vert as a rookie?

westbrook, and rose is faster than lebron, more fitness, more agile, quicker, and about the same vertical Lebron. Lebron's just stronger(well supposely). Lebron stride is pretty fast too.

[Dragonyeuw]

Young Kobe. 99-02.

Oh Jesus H.....

[lbj23clutch]

westbrook, nate, drose, michael, wilt? shaq? Didn't shaq have 36+ vert as a rookie?

westbrook, and rose is faster than lebron, more fitness, more agile, quicker, and about the same vertical Lebron. Lebron's just stronger(well supposely). Lebron stride is pretty fast too.

LOL this guy didn't watch LeBron in Cleveland.

[noosaman]

Yuta Tubase

[Dictator]

LOL this guy didn't watch LeBron in Cleveland.

Hate when people say this. Westbrook, Rose are quicker, just as fast despite having shorter legs, and get up just as high despite being 5-6 inches shorter and a shorter arm reach.

Lebron should be stronger and Lebron is heavier but Lebron is also taller with a wayyy bigger frame.

[OhNoTimNoSho]

LeBron James is a better athlete then MJ. He's much stronger, taller, has a 50- 60 pound weight advantage, yet his end to end speed is better, his balance and coordination is on par with some starting wide recievers in the NFL, and although he doesn't jump as high as MJ, he's pretty close IMO. MJ has the better body control, slightly better leaper, has bigger hands and is much more agile. But he doesn't have the combination of size, strength, and speed as LeBron. LeBron is not only a world class athlete in the NBA, but he would be a world class athlete in the NFL as stated by many NFL personnel.


And shame on you for putting Chuck over LeBron athletically . SMH Barkley was a poorman's LeBron in terms of size, speed, strength and leaping ability. Only comparison would be in strength and even at that I would give the edge to Bron. Barkley ain't even the most athletic PF. I'd say guy's like Larry Johnson, Kemp, Blake Griffin were more athletic then Chuck.

You are either an idiot, a person who knows nothing of charles barkley, or a guy that makes humongous exaggerations to make his points. Take your pick.

[CeltsGarlic]

The dude that pwns mountain lions.