The Mystery of Jerry West's Gorilla Wingspan

[CavaliersFTW]

Scottie Pippen also real long, for his body...... prolly no coincidence in each case we are finding true greatness - ability to use physical advantages to maximum potential

Yeah but also nobody needs a wide wingspan in the NBA to be great. It's not just what you got, it's how you use it. Kobe's probably got shorter arms than little Jerry West but Kobe does okay too

[La Frescobaldi]

Yeah but also nobody needs a wide wingspan in the NBA to be great. It's not just what you got, it's how you use it. Kobe's probably got shorter arms than little Jerry West but Kobe does okay too

true on the armspan........ Kobe's attribute, which sets him apart from all other players is his study of the game.

I can see guys from every era in Bryant's game, from Oscar, Logo, to Pearl & Frazier and JoJo to the great forwards of the 80s, right through Jordan.

Kobe's mindspan has no rival in his era, and very few in the history of the game

[CavaliersFTW]

1:1 scale... Wilt not fully grown...

(Scaled by lining up the basketball diameters - then used draftexpress barefoot height to place players at their true height)

Used the blur just to create the illusion of depth but the scaling is still 1:1

Check out the size of Wilt's hands....

[ThaRegul8r]

I found Kareem's and Bill Russell's too

I believe Russell's was 7-4.

Yeah, it was.

I've heard that too but that's been word of mouth - That isn't the # from the 1961 source I found though

I've seen all that too, I have the article about Russell and Swede - but 7'4 just seems to be something speculated in the past decade that spread by word of mouth and became fact by virtue of "common knowledge" - just like how daddy long legs are the most poisonous spiders in the world despite not being spiders and despite not having potent venom at all... If something is repeated enough times people just assume it to be true. I could be wrong but so far the 7'4 claim boiled down to zero citations from anyone. I actually found a source from 1961 - from his active playing years. It differs from 7'4 but I'm thinking it's likelier to be a real measurement.

False. I've read with my own eyes at least two occasions in print in the paper Russell's wingspan listed as 7-4, once prior to his NBA career, and again during it. At least one of them

[CavaliersFTW]

Yeah, it was.






False. I've read with my own eyes at least two occasions in print in the paper Russell's wingspan listed as 7-4, once prior to his NBA career, and again during it. At least one of them—maybe both, but I know for a fact one was—from the New York Times.

Would you mind finding these sources? I finally find a printed source dating from his time period and your saying it's false - I've looked high and low for anything else and found nothing so far. It's not that I don't believe you - I just like to cite data that I use

[Vienceslav]

Try Kevin Mchale wingspan before you go into the Wilt worship mode again.

[CavaliersFTW]

Try Kevin Mchale wingspan before you go into the Wilt worship mode again.

I've been looking - no luck -

[Brunch@Five]

BTW, Sonny Hill claims that Kareem, himself, said, that his highest reach was 12' 6", which would equal Dwight Howard's. Of course, Hill claims that he witnessed Chamberlain touching the top of the backboard (as did longtime Sixer trainer, Al Domenico.)

John Ecker, who played with Kareem at UCLA and was my high school coach, told me that Kareem was able to grab money off the top of the backboard too.

[MichaelCheazley]

Dwyane wade-
6'4 - 10.75"

I believe Alonzo mourning and jason maxiell also have some ridiculous wingspans. Ike diogu and joel anthony too.

[stax]

Does anyone know the numbers for Phil Jackson? He and Kevin McHale had the longest arms I think I've ever seen.

Jackson talks briefly about his long arms in his book Sacred Hoops, recalling that he could sit in the back seat of a car and close both front doors simultaneously. I can't remember if he states his wingspan or arm length numbers. I just checked my copy but the book has no index and I'm too lazy to read it all again just for that one paragraph. Maybe I'll skim it later.

[BarberSchool]

edit: forgot.... other thing about that quick shot? Jerry had a really unique trick, which as far as I know, he invented this.... he would dribble around the perimeter, like anybody (although amazingly fast) but at some point on the arc, known only to himself, he had a single hard dribble.

I mean he would slam that ball down hard... and he would go into his jumpshot without the ball. To the defender, it was another dribble...... but for Jerry, that hard bounce would fling the ball up to about his shoulder height... into his hands as they floated up..... and with those long arms he had a high release combined with the fact he was already IN THE AIR, WITH THE BALL... before the defender could react.
Result: another uncontested shot for the Logo

Kobe Bryant, Master of All That Has Come Before has copied that move to an exact perfection that has given him a lot of buckets... over the years as his athleticism has declined he has honed his skills to a very fine sharpness indeed

Very interesting piece of trivia Frescobaldi.

[Pointguard]

Dwyane wade-
6'4 - 10.75"

I believe Alonzo mourning and jason maxiell also have some ridiculous wingspans. Ike diogu and joel anthony too.

Ha, You got my three! I would throw in Durant as well.

Wade seems to not jump much to get off dunks.

[Pointguard]

What I don't get is why are some guys with long arm spans are excellent shooters? In science you would figure the more leverage - the more things could go wrong.

[KenneBell]

Yeah but also nobody needs a wide wingspan in the NBA to be great. It's not just what you got, it's how you use it. Kobe's probably got shorter arms than little Jerry West but Kobe does okay too

Nah, his wingspan I believe is something like 6'11".

No definite numbers though.

[jlip]

"Sloan doesn't have Robertson's ability to hang in the air for what seems like seconds at a time."

This quote about Oscar Robertson is the more surprising one to me. I knew that he was more athletic than what he's given credit for, but I didn't know that he had a reputation for impressive "hang time." I remember reading in his autobiography his account of the incident which stopped him from dunking. It was either in high school or college. I think someone may have undercut him or something as he was going up for a dunk. It's been a while since I've read it though.