Lebron James recently broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points, becoming the top scorer in NBA history. Being a star basketball player running from record to record like this sounds pretty cool. But being a good basketball player is not that easy and ‘working hard’ is not enough to be a good basketball player in some cases.
Numerous studies and average data on the physical characteristics of basketball players give us an idea of what it takes physically to be a basketball star.
Run, jump, turn, stop, grasp, release… Each of the moves that must be done while playing basketball is directly related to the structure of the body.
Both your upper and lower body must be strong and agile in order to move quickly, make sudden turns, leap better and dodge your opponents.
The size of your hand to grasp the ball better and dominate easily, the length of your arms to disable your opponent and get the ball from him, and your height to be advantageous in the basket and against your opponents are very important.
You see, the physique of a good basketball player is quite different from the physique of us ordinary people.
Just a tall stature or just strong arms alone is not enough to become a basketball star. It takes a good combination to be the best…
Let’s start with the first thing that comes to mind; Height is a pretty critical feature for basketball;
Of course, scenarios such as being ‘short’ and a very successful basketball player are also possible, but statistically such situations seem almost ‘exceptional’. For example, LeBron James, who is currently the top scorer in NBA history, is 2 meters 6 cm tall. Former record holder Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 2 meters 18 cm tall.
Although there have been minor changes in the average height of basketball players from time to time in the history of the NBA, it has generally changed between 1.90 cm and 2 meters. Although there are exceptions, research shows that height gives advantages to both players and teams. The reason for this is that the height gives the players an advantage in many movements such as defensive and offensive rebounds, blocks, and dunks.
Big hands mean a good grip on the ball;
Hand size, which we can call a physical feature related to height, plays a critical role during the game thanks to the grip ability it provides to basketball players. Research shows that parameters such as palm width and middle finger length directly affect gripping ability.
Of course, hand size is proportional to height, and there are no methods by which we can extend our hands, palms or fingers as much as we want afterwards. So if you’re lucky and your genes fit, you can have big hands 🙂
The advantages of the arm span in the field are quite large;
A long arm span puts basketball players ahead in many positions, just like the advantages of a long neck. As you can imagine, a short arm span will not be very good for moves like blocks or rebounds…
Conducted research also reveals the advantages of arm span of basketball players. A study shows that basketball players and some athletes from different sports have above-average arm span lengths.
Strong legs to carry a strong body are a must for star basketball players.
Check out how LeBron James uses his legs to do this move. Strong legs affect all aspects of basketball performance. The strength of the legs is tested again and again as you jump, land, run, and move around the field with sudden turns.
This makes strong legs a must for professional basketball players.
Variables such as weight, body fat mass and lean body mass are very important for basketball players as in all sports;
Basketball is a sport that requires agility and high performance for a long time. For this reason, body weight, fat ratio and lean body mass values significantly affect the performance of athletes.
Despite their tall stature, basketball players need to be thin and have a low fat percentage. For example, body weight is extremely critical for some moves that are the backbone of basketball, such as jumping. This shows that a less fat, lighter body is a necessity. Many studies reveal that body fat ratio directly affects performance in professional basketball players.
As a result, we come across basketball players that we can recognize from meters away, who make us say ‘wow’ with their physical features…
But don’t worry. If you want to feel like an extremely talented and ‘flying star’ basketball player, click here to take a look at Sneaks Up’s series specially prepared for LeBron James’ NBA record with 38,390 points!
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