Honestly, this is a tough question to answer. Not only because it is completely subjective to each person but also because athletic qualities in each sport are measured differently. Sure, N'golo Kante may run 11 kilometers over the course of 90 minutes, but how can that be judged against Eliud Kipchoge running 26 miles in 2 hours? However, in terms of defining the perfect athlete, only one sport seems to incorporate all aspects of athletic ability and can truly award its athletes with this illustrious title; Basketball.
Perfect is a strong statement and as every athlete is human, no one can truly be perfect, but basketball players certainly come close and are much more than just a bunch of tall people running around for 48 minutes. NBA players possess an elite level of technical skill, tactical genius, and physical ability that no other sport comes close to matching, and can maintain this for over 2 decades against the very best the world has to offer. Still not convinced? Let's break it down:
Technical Skill
In my opinion, basketball players are the most skilled athletes on the planet, as they are required to be skilled with almost every part of their body in order to be successful. In order to even score, an NBA player's jump shot has to be technically perfect, and in today's ever-expanding game, players must be able to perform this same motion from as far as 40 feet away on a consistent basis. Great shooters such as Steph Curry and Damian Lillard will convert on over 250 3-point shots a season whilst maintaining a 43% conversion rate. But shooting isn't where this technical skill stops. Basketball is a constantly evolving sport, and all players at every position are required to have both great footwork and the ability to handle the ball with supreme levels of hand-eye coordination.
For all intents and purposes, playing basketball in the NBA is most technically comparable to juggling 3 balls whilst performing in the ballet and finishing off the performance by throwing a small piece thread through the eye of a needle. Oh, and one more thing, you have to do all of that with a defender in your face and in front of 20,000 fans who all want you to miss.
Tactical Genius
A basketball players ability to read a situation on both offence and defence is only really comparable to the skillset of an NFL quarterback. However, whilst quarterbacks spend an average of 3-5 seconds looking for the correct pass, NBA players must be able to read others almost immediately in order to react accordingly.
On the offensive side of the ball, an effective player must be able to read their defender's body language and match that with their technical ability in order to produce a move to get past them. They must then read the body language of helping defenders and analyse the type of pass or shot they will use in order to create a scoring opportunity for their team. This all may seem very complicated, but this whole process is usually over within 2.5 seconds.
A full defensive possession in the NBA is one of the most tactically demanding situations in all of sport. Moving as one unit, each defender must be able to effectively stop every opposing player from scoring, constantly analysing play patterns, player movement and game situation. To put this into perspective, this is on the job description of most sports coaches who's job it is to fulfil these roles and relay the information to their players in training sessions or between game halves. On the other hand, basketball players roles are equivalent to that of a SEAL team, with each member owning an assignment whilst protecting the target from opposing forces.
Physical Ability
Although their technical and tactical ability can be debated over, a basketball player's physicality is second to none. The most successful NBA players possess devastating combinations of strength, size, quickness, and speed, and no athlete display this better than Wilt Chamberlain. Whether you follow basketball or not, most people may expect to hear names such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James, but even they pale in comparison to this modern-day Hercules. Standing at 7'1", Wilt Chamberlain was the embodiment of what makes a basketball player the greatest athlete on the planet. He possessed a 48 inch vertical (the highest in NBA history) and could display this extraordinary ability by dunking on 12-foot rims and snatching change off the top of an NBA backboard (which is over 13.5 feet off the ground). Alongside this, Wilt was able to bench press over 600lbs and run the 100m in under 11 seconds. Throughout his professional sports career, Wilt utilized these skills across a number of sports including basketball, track and field, and volleyball, showcasing the raw athletic talent that basketball players possess.
Now I'm not saying that basketball players are some sort of unique breed. There are always outliers in every sport that possess these same elite levels of technical, tactical and physical skill such as Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo and Muhammed Ali. However, the defining factor that sets NBA greats such as LeBron James and Michael Jordan apart is that their levels of physical, technical and tactical ability combined with their competitive drive are an amalgamation that can be utilized across a range of different sports, in which they would be just as successful as they are within basketball.
I cannot disagree, great athletes and fabulous to watch.
ReplyDeleteMost interesting Bridge !