How do 6'8-6'11" dudes move like guards?

[Living Being]

yeah 30 was a retarded number. Im sorry. Its obviously way more. But its probably basically like the top 1% of all males though I would bet.

that argument is kind of pointless though because we'll never know. Yes we can say theres hundreds of kids that were smarter than einstein but shit happened and they never left their barns and did work but at the end of the day these are still the top 1% of billions of specimens.

There are 6.8 billion people on the planet.
1% of that would be 68 million. That's a lot of LeBrons!

[InspiredLebowski]

Jumping ability is the biggest part of it but, even then, those guys have NBA level verts. Where they would probably be lacking compared to the above average NBA athlete is quickness and agility. But after I watched a few matches, and heard them mention how tall a lot of the guys were, I realized that for being in the 6'6"-6'11" range, most of them moved surprisingly well for a person their size. Yes, it was in a more confined space, but they have quick reflexes. I mean you have to in order to time a jump in an attempt to block a spike and especially to react and even get a hand or arm on a spike coming down at you lord knows how fast.

Like I said, Chase Budinger was a phenomenal volleyball player in college and I think most would consider him an above average NBA athlete at the very least. Who knows, maybe he was the most athletic volleyball player in the country but, I'm willing to bet that a lot of those guys in the Olympics were pretty similar to Budinger in athletic ability.

I have no disagreements with any of this at all, it's all true far as I know. I used to think tennis was the closest comparable to hoops with the abundance of horizontal movement, and it still probably is in that regard, but volleyball's right up there.

The top of a volleyball net's 8' or so, so that does skew the perception a bit. I'm not dogging on volleyball players or anything, they're in the top couple percentage points of athleticism in the world (a lot more athletic in general than a number of NBA bigs), but as a whole I just really don't think there's a game that compares at all to basketball in terms of physical giants with otherwordly athleticism.

[Noof]

There are 6.8 billion people on the planet.
1% of that would be 68 million. That's a lot of LeBrons!

[Qwertyazerty]

Genetics, drugs (allowed or not for sportmen), biomechanical trainers and so many things can have an effect on your movements.

But another relevant thing may be that, being too good for their age, many NBA players where playing versus older (and logicaly taller due to age) competition in which they didn't have the size to play 5 or 4. I read somewhere that Pau Gasol was forced to play PG in Cornell

[KG215]

I have no disagreements with any of this at all, it's all true far as I know. I used to think tennis was the closest comparable to hoops with the abundance of horizontal movement, and it still probably is in that regard, but volleyball's right up there.

The top of a volleyball net's 8' or so, so that does skew the perception a bit. I'm not dogging on volleyball players or anything, they're in the top couple percentage points of athleticism in the world (a lot more athletic in general than a number of NBA bigs), but as a whole I just really don't think there's a game that compares at all to basketball in terms of physical giants with otherwordly athleticism.

I agree. I'm in the "NBA players are the most freakish and best athletes in the world" camp. Any abundance of size can be a big advantage in any sport at almost any position. In terms of teaming up, though, and playing some sort of tournament against other top athletes from the best professional leagues in the world (NBA, NFL, MLB, EPL, whatever), I think the NBA team would do the best. They may not fair as well in a individualized decathlon type event, but no other professional sports league has a bunch of 6'8"+ dudes with the agility, speed, quickness, and leaping ability of someone 6-8 inches shorter.

I just didn't realize how big and athletic male volleyball players are until these last couple of weeks. I now have a new found respect for the game because of it.

[LBJ 23]

So yes, starting at a young age may help your coordination.

Not may help, it certainly does help your coordination.

[dunksby]

I have no disagreements with any of this at all, it's all true far as I know. I used to think tennis was the closest comparable to hoops with the abundance of horizontal movement, and it still probably is in that regard, but volleyball's right up there.

The top of a volleyball net's 8' or so, so that does skew the perception a bit. I'm not dogging on volleyball players or anything, they're in the top couple percentage points of athleticism in the world (a lot more athletic in general than a number of NBA bigs), but as a whole I just really don't think there's a game that compares at all to basketball in terms of physical giants with otherwordly athleticism.

I think Water polo athletes do come close, nothing is harder than playing a mash up of soccer and bball in the water...

[Rake2204]

I can't remember where I read it, but a study showed that there are around 70 male US citizens between 18-40 that were 7'+. Just in the US obviously, but there's only 30 NBA starting 5 jobs. And there's, apparently, only 70 people in the entire country that bring a non-negotiable positive (size) to the position.

I wish I was tall is what I'm saying.

You're pretty darn on the money.

Fact: An actual accounting of 7-footers, domestic or global, does not exist in any reliable form. National surveys by the Center for Disease Control list no head count or percentile at that height. (Only 5% of adult American males are 6'3" or taller.) "In terms of the growth spectrum, 7 feet is simply extreme," explains endocrinologist Shlomo Melmed, dean of the medical faculty at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The term 7-footer is itself a kind of outer limit, a far-off threshold beyond which precise measurement seems superfluous. A 6'4" guard isn't a 6-footer, after all. The curve shaped by the CDC's available statistics, however, does allow one to estimate the number of American men between the ages of 20 and 40 who are 7 feet or taller: fewer than 70 in all. Which indicates, by further extrapolation, that while the probability of, say, an American between 6'6" and 6'8" being an NBA player today stands at a mere 0.07%, it's a staggering 17% for someone 7 feet or taller.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...7806/index.htm

[SpanishACB]

You guys seen handball? Players there's are also really quick and agile and many of them on the 6'8 mark

[Nash]

In soccer if you are 6-3 or taller you are usually clumsy.

[swi7ch]

black genetics
freaks of nature

that's why the usa is the best in the world in athletics (see: past olympics)

[LikeABosh]

They are world class athletes and work out all year there whole lives, with the best trainers in the country. Lebron is also just a freak of nature though. The way he moves, dribbles and his feel for the game is just ridiculous for his size.

[JaggerCommaMick]

Amare Stoudamire 6'11 mate?

Heights are ridiculously embellished in the NBA. In fact I saw Blake Griffin the other day and hes no taller than 6'6. Lebron is probably 6'7 and Amare possibly is 6'8.

Mates, in the NFL they list your real height and Rob Gronkowski who I've seen is a legit 6'7. Few power forwards are any taller than he is. Guys like Mike Beasley are easily shorter.

[ZenMaster]

By being crazy athletic while practicing and doing it from a young age.
If you are big and want to get in the cordination it takes you have to do it for a long time and in a smart way.

[SpanishACB]

In soccer if you are 6-3 or taller you are usually clumsy.

Ibrahimovic says hi