Definition Of Athletcism
I'm not a big fan of Nate Robinson but.. he is at least top 3 when it comes to athleticism. He is very fast and he is extremely quick (He scored a 10.75 on the agility test at the combine). He is also EXTREMELY explosive and his vertical leap speaks for itself. Also at the draft combine he got 13 reps on the bench press test, when he is only about 170 lbs himself . I would have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.
Derrick Rose is the most athletic point guard in the NBA.
Here's my list of what makes athleticism:
Straight-line speed (running speed)
Change-of-direction speed (first step)
Lateral Quickness
Upper body strength
Lower body strength
Leaping ability
Length
Size
When you look at all of those attributes, Derrick Rose is great or elite in all of them (in my opinion).
Did I miss anything?
I don't like to live and die by the combine. I mean, anybody can train for those.
Jumping and running at the combine is completely different than jumping and running in a game. I think endurance is important because elite level athletes can run and jump in the 4th quarter as well as they can in the 1st. I think that's why guys like Kobe, Wade, LeBron, etc are able to consistently night after night take over in the 4th quarter while others can't.
you can't say the combine means nothing at all. It might not prove everything, but it sure is a good indicator of what a guy is capable of. And how can anyone say Nate is not one of the most athletic players in the league? Dude was one of the top cb's on the washington football team and the basketball teams best player. How is he not athletic regardless of what defenition you are using?
i have to agree with nate being one of the most athletic. you have to be pretty athletic to even play cb and to do the things that he does at his size. the combine is not useless but its not the tell all end all either. rose is one of th emost athletic along with westbrook who i think is a lil more athletic because hes his side to side quickness is quicker then rose an di also have to put rondo in the disscussion
i don't think size is something i would consider a part of athliticism. So you can't downgrade nates athletic ability becuase of his hands or height. I don't know who is the most ahtleitc pg, but it wouldn't surprise me if you went with nate, rose or westbrook. Saying which of those guys is the most athletic is almost impossible but you can't act like it clearly isn't nate.
Westbrook doesn't have the strength or body control that Rose has. That's why Rose finishes better at the rim IN traffic. Westbrook is an elite athlete, but like I've said before... Westbrook to Rose is like Drexler to Jordan. Both elite level athletes, but one can run a little faster and jump a little higher, which makes all the difference.
Here's an article about Derrick Rose while he was a junior in high school:
FOUR DIVISION ONE COACHES TURN OUT FOR SPARQ TESTING AT SIMEON HIGH SCHOOL
by Central
The real star of the day was no one else but the one and only Derrick Rose, or “Pooh” as we were told his teammate call him. Derrick had a SPARQ Rating of 86.79, which is the top basketball SPARQ Rating we have seen on the Central team. He had blazing speed in the twenty with a time of 2.83 seconds as well as a 5.68 on the agility cone drill. When it came to dunking we knew that would not be a problem for this young man. With a 36.9 vertical and at 6’3” this kid can really get up there. But what was this biggest surprise of the day was a 72 foot launch on the powerball throw. This might be the best in the country!
Simeon’s head coach mentioned to us what makes Rose special, “Derrick’s speed is what makes him better than most players. He is a very strong kid and is also very unselfish. Derrick works hard on his game and will continue to get better.” We wish Derrick and the men of Simeon basketball the best of luck on their upcoming season and a chance to play for the state title again this year.
You don't think size and hand size should be considered when talking about athleticism? By size... I'm talking about height, length, etc. That can be the difference between two great athletes. You absolutely have to consider it when talking about professional sports.
Jordan had HUGE hands which allowed him to do things with the ball that others, who were maybe comparable to him athletic wise, couldn't do.
tezo, no question a players hands, height are important to what they can acomplish, but i just don't think that stuff falls into my defenition of "athleticism" i would say nates athletic ability is why he is able to overcome his size. I mean, would you suggest that being 7 feet is more athleitc then 6-7 ?
Okay. Two players with equal athleticism. Both 40 inch verticals. Both measure the same when it comes to agility and speed. All those other categories, however...
Player A is 6' 7" 215 lbs. 6' 9" wingspan and 6' 11" standing reach... Can't palm a ball.
Player B is 7' 0" 230 lbs. 7' 3" wingspan and 7' 5" standing reach... Palms a ball easily with room to go.
You don't think Player B has an advantage there?
i would say player b has a physical size and length advantage, not athletic. But that's just my opinion. Anyways, like i said ihave no idea who is the most ahtletic between rose, westbrook, or nate or even rondo. But i might say it is nate robinson, certainly not clear between those guys enough to waste much time arguing about it.
IMO Nate is the most athletic pg in the league...Dude has a 44 inch vertical and is faster/quicker than any other pg in the league...Seriously, if Nate raced anybody in the league in the 100m dash I am betting all my money on Nate. He also has a 44 inch vert. Obviously he's shorter so he doesn't dunk that much in games, but he can blow by anybody whether it's Rondo or Shaq lol.
First off if you are 6-7 and u cant palm the ball you have issues. Second no player B has the advantage being 7-3 hinders your athleticism, whens the last time you saw and athletic 7-3 person? Usually they are slower and clumsier and awkward, plus your knees take a beating from being so tall and w/e athleticism you have doesn't last long. Even if he does jump as high he is most likely slower and his knees can't take sharp turns or cuts. I think you misunderstood what athleticism means my friend. A 5-9 person with a vertical leap of 43.5 is more athletic than a 7-3 guy who can "palm the ball easily with room to go".
Lebron is not the best athlete in the history of the NBA, he is simply one of the most dominant but that isn't only because of his height its because he is built like a truck. Nate is also very built which added with his athleticism allows him to be a great scorer.
Player B is 7' 0", not 7' 3". His wingspan is 7' 3". My point was to show that you have to consider height and length when talking about athleticism because it can determine the difference between two elite level athletes. Similar to LeBron and Wade. Both similar athletes, but LeBron is 6' 8" 250, while Wade is 6' 4 212. Even though Wade is just as athletic (testing wise), there are things he can't do that LeBron can because of his size... The size difference allows LeBron to do things with his athleticism that Wade can't, which I don't care how you put it... Gives Bron the advantage there.
By the way... Reggie Miller was 6' 7" and couldn't palm the ball. That's why he always dunked with two hands. I guess he had issues, huh?
youngdave, how can you be so confident that nate is not as athletic? I mean you make it sound obvious, what nate have you been watching that you think he does not show the same level of ahtleticicism as the other guys? He blows by people jumps and changes directions and all that stuff at an elite level. why is rondo clearly more athletic?
Nate can not finish above the rim on a consistent basis, rondo can
Rondo is quicker faster, changes speeds better, nate is very erratic and out of control alot.
Also rondo has a 7-0 wingspan matched with his leaping ability enable him to be probably the best rebounding PG right now so therfore again RONDO clearly is more athletic than nate robinson
Icing on the cake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujDE2yAJpNA
Stop saying clearly...It's annoying cause he's not CLEARLY more athletic. Youngdave-You are talking about them as players. Clearly Rondo is the better player. Rondo is not quicker, nor is he faster and he cannot jump higher...Nate is 5,7. The reason why he got into the league was because of his freakish athleticism and scoring ability.
The reason Nate Robinson is even in the league scoring as well as he does is because of how athletic he is. At his height the only way you are going to make it in the league is possessing unbelievable talent and athleticism. He makes up for lack of height with extremely amazing athleticism.
Great athelete. Rose is very athletic, but his lateral quickness on D and reaction time on D does not compare to Rondo's. Lebron is the best athelete to ever play in the NBA. Not best player best Athelete by far IMO. Nate Robinson is good because he can shoot and is a freak of nature. He is more athletic than Rose to me, but yes Rose is a freak 2
When it comes to Rose, I think it's a lack of interest and knowledge. Before he got to the NBA, he was able to be a menace on defense based on sheer lateral quickness, strength and length. He didn't have to give 100% (sometimes even 50%) to effectively contain the person he was defending. The NBA is a whole new game, and he has to realize that he'll have to bring a full effort (and watch some game tape) night in and night out to become a lockdown defender.
If we take height, length, etc out of the equation... Then Nate Robinson is arguably the most athletic player in the NBA. I mean, he's 5' 7". I've watched him jump over a 6' 11" guy's head... Watched him block Yao Ming... Countless other amazing things... Watched him destroy the Hawks the other day. He's definitely a freak athlete for his size. I mean, he's shorter than my mom lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzVO-QoQk74
best athlete in the NBA......LETS GO!
so what is more important a hs athletic test or the nba test...personally id say the nba test is more accurate and more important. so if thats the route ya'll wanna go then just go to the nba draft measurement page to see whos more athletic. and i agree with what someone said that we are talking about how much of a athlete someone is which means someones short arms or height doesnt factor in to the equation. i and if we are gonna add some of the things ya'll have added like height or weight then defense has to be considered because you have to be pretty athletic to be a good defensive pg which is why i put rondo then westbrook then wade. in any overall test of hands legth or whatever im sorry but overall rondo has all of them beat
and yeah nate has to be considered very strongly considering how much he does with his stature. its liek d.wilkens and m.jordan admitting that spud webb was more athletic then them because of the things he had to do at his height and disadvantages. youre height, hand size is not a factor in how athletic you are. have ya'll ever taken a athletic test?..had sizes in not included in it and height is only included to see youre vertical
young dave youre an idiot, nate robinson could play in the NFL he was THAT good at cornerback starting as a true freshman for UW's football team...he has a 44 inch vert and ran a 4.5 forty yard dash ...he may not be the "biggest or biggest hands" or whatever the hell you guys are crying about but hes strong, ridiculously fast and EXTREMELY athletic
rajon rondo? did u go too crazy on new years? hes got long arms and big hands and thats all he has on Nate. not overly strong or fast or even that good for that matter
Derrick Rose: Max Step: 40 inches. Height without shoes: 6'1''.
Russel Westbrook: Max Step: 35.6. Height without shoes: 6'2''
How is Westbrook more athletic than Rose?
“Watching his footage, it’s hard not to wonder whether Rose might actually be the most athletic point guard we’ve ever evaluated at the college level. We talk about quickness and explosiveness and such all the time on DraftExpress, but Rose is clearly in a class of his own. His first step is nothing short of breathtaking, and when combined with his terrific ball-handling skills (particularly his awesome crossover) and outstanding body control once in the lane, we’re talking about an unstoppable force when it comes to his slashing game. Rose can handle the ball very well with both hands (although he favors his right), and is always looking for an opportunity to use a lethal assortment of jukes and hesitation moves to get to the basket,… Once he’s there, his excellent leaping ability allows him to just hang in the air and finish strong with a variety of acrobatic layups, floaters or sometimes even an emphatic dunk.”
- NCAA Weekly Performers – Freshman Edition, Part One, 11/23/07.
Speed, Explosiveness,Quickness,Vertical Leap, Running Vertical, Strength Etc...
Some people think DUNKING is the definition when clearly it's not.
So with that being said why are some of you guys saying Nate Robinson is the most ATHLETIC PG in the NBA???
He's nowhere near it.