Better athlete: LeBron James or Cristiano Ronaldo?

[bigboi]

this is kind of a silly thread though as its obvious people posting in this thread dont even watch soccer. CR7 is one of the most impressive athletes soccer has ever seen and hes getting compared to kyrie irving? come on...

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

[JimmyTD3]

this is kind of a silly thread though as its obvious people posting in this thread dont even watch soccer. CR7 is one of the most impressive athletes soccer has ever seen and hes getting compared to kyrie irving? come on...

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

If athleticism is defined to you as looking jacked without a shirt on, then yes, you're right.

If you take thing into account such as speed, endurance, hand-eye coordination, balance, etc., it becomes a close comparison.

The things Ronaldo can do with a soccer ball, not many in the history of the sport have been able to do.

[bigboi]

this is kind of a silly thread though as its obvious people posting in this thread dont even watch soccer. CR7 is one of the most impressive athletes soccer has ever seen and hes getting compared to kyrie irving? come on...

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

If athleticism is defined to you as looking jacked without a shirt on, then yes, you're right.

If you take thing into account such as speed, endurance, hand-eye coordination, balance, etc., it becomes a close comparison.

The things Ronaldo can do with a soccer ball, not many in the history of the sport have been able to do.

Yes, I'm talking speed, endurance, coordination, etc. Doing things with a soccer ball is a skill, not really athletic ability accept when you're factoring coordination. Same thing goes for catching a football or dribbling a basketball. Also endurance, Ronaldo is probably ahead of most NFL or NBA players. But speed, dude isn't in their league especially when it comes to zNFL players.hand eye coordination, Everything in football and basketball is basically based around hand eye coordination so I'll give them the nod there. Balance, both have insane balance. Lineman and running backs in football have low centers of gravity. Top NBA athletes, particularly DRose and Westbrook have crazy balance. I really don't think it's a close comparison. Then you have to factor in strength and I really think NBA and NFL players outclass them

[Ryoga Hibiki]

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

This makes no sense on so many levels.
First America doesn't have the best natural athletes in the world if anything for purely statistical reasons.
Second, there are better athletes in football compared to basketball or american football... for playing football. It requires different features to excel and most american football or basketball players just don't have them at very elite level.
Third, all these guys' bodies have been shaped by the game they played. An american football player would look very different if he'd been trained for rugby all his life, the opposite is true as well.
Fourth, I see more chances that Cristiano could have trained himself into a great basketball player than LeBron excelling in football.

[mattg]

Yes, I'm talking speed, endurance, coordination, etc. Doing things with a soccer ball is a skill, not really athletic ability accept when you're factoring coordination. Same thing goes for catching a football or dribbling a basketball. Also endurance, Ronaldo is probably ahead of most NFL or NBA players. But speed, dude isn't in their league especially when it comes to zNFL players.hand eye coordination, Everything in football and basketball is basically based around hand eye coordination so I'll give them the nod there. Balance, both have insane balance. Lineman and running backs in football have low centers of gravity. Top NBA athletes, particularly DRose and Westbrook have crazy balance. I really don't think it's a close comparison. Then you have to factor in strength and I really think NBA and NFL players outclass them

Soccer players blow nba players away in terms of balance lol. First, balance is far more important in soccer than basketball. Second, even 'soft' soccer is much more physical than nba when guys go after the ball. The most obvious thing though is look at the legs and bases of soccer players. Sooooooo much more jacked than nba guys could ever dream of being. Tall, lanky guys just don't have better balance and center of gravity than shorter athletes, especially ones who rely 100% on their legs.

[GYK]

When has balance not been a major necessity in the crowded court of large men the NBA has?
Any while we can find exactly how fast NBA/NFL players no data is out there on how fast soccer or rugby players are.
We know endurance is a major part of soccer and in all sports speed is important however some sports put such a premium on speed that track their prospects speed and the other simply does not.

CR might be a tremendous athlete but so is JJ Barea.

[mattg]

When has balance not been a major necessity in the crowded court of large men the NBA has?
Any while we can find exactly how fast NBA/NFL players no data is out there on how fast soccer or rugby players are.
We know endurance is a major part of soccer and in all sports speed is important however some sports put such a premium on speed that track their prospects speed and the other simply does not.

CR might be a tremendous athlete but so is JJ Barea.

Not that balance isn't important, but it's not like in soccer where if you have the ball defenders are nonstop riding you and hip/shoulder checking you to knock you off it.

As for speed, http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup-2014/2014/06/17/4890308/robben-the-fastest-footballer-of-all-time

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/analysts-starting-track-fastest-players-nba-150028733.html

Now obviously it's harder to reach top speed on a basketball court since it's shorter but still. Also interesting how tony Parker is widely regarded as a top tier athlete in the realm of nba Players, one of the quickest and fastest as a European player. Yet euro soccer guys can't possibly be good athletes.

NFL obviously has the fastest players and a lot of former track stars, but the nba doesn't have that. Realistically, nba guys are just too tall to be as fast as shorter players. It's no coincidence that the vast majority of 100m dash sprinters at a world class level are between 5'6" and 6'1", erring more towards the shorter side of that spectrum. Now there are exceptions ala usain bolt, but that guy is the biggest outlier athletic freak in human history.

[GYK]

When has balance not been a major necessity in the crowded court of large men the NBA has?
Any while we can find exactly how fast NBA/NFL players no data is out there on how fast soccer or rugby players are.
We know endurance is a major part of soccer and in all sports speed is important however some sports put such a premium on speed that track their prospects speed and the other simply does not.

CR might be a tremendous athlete but so is JJ Barea.

Not that balance isn't important, but it's not like in soccer where if you have the ball defenders are nonstop riding you and hip/shoulder checking you to knock you off it.

As for speed, http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup-2014/2014/06/17/4890308/robben-the-fastest-footballer-of-all-time

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/analysts-starting-track-fastest-players-nba-150028733.html

Now obviously it's harder to reach top speed on a basketball court since it's shorter but still. Also interesting how tony Parker is widely regarded as a top tier athlete in the realm of nba Players, one of the quickest and fastest as a European player. Yet euro soccer guys can't possibly be good athletes.

NFL obviously has the fastest players and a lot of former track stars, but the nba doesn't have that. Realistically, nba guys are just too tall to be as fast as shorter players. It's no coincidence that the vast majority of 100m dash sprinters at a world class level are between 5'6" and 6'1", erring more towards the shorter side of that spectrum. Now there are exceptions ala usain bolt, but that guy is the biggest outlier athletic freak in human history.

Yea basketball has defense too and the guys are certainly bigger, stronger and I think faster

I never said they can't be good athletes. I clearly said he might be a tremendous athlete. Tony and Sabonis also play soccer. They love it. It's been with them for centuries. Also that link is impressive. 23 mph.
http://tosh.cc.com/video-clips/isa15x/f ... -the-world
Only 20mph.
Has soccer has some sort of combine? How do they measure who is fast or strong? I'm sure coaching and player personnel has some method. I would think you know.

I don't understand. Your height keeps you from being fast? Longer legs for longer strides doesn't equate to speed? Because you have more steps to take doesn't mean you will reach the goal first. As for NFL players long stride runners are commonly know as the fastest/most explosive runners.
I feel your using much older logic towards runners that's been taken down by the 6-5 Bolt. Only thing that went against taller sprinters were too long of strides and not centering the top half of their body(head and shoulders). Long as their strides are proportioned to their body sprinters are fine at whatever height as long as they are of course fast. Also commonly known that the tall and fast go for more glamorous sports then sprinting. Tall athletes except for Bolt, because sprinting is a Jamaican tradition, uncommonly became a sprinter.
If anything the old adage that sprinters are short and distance runners are tall(the type of running associated with soccer players) would work in the favor of the NBA players.

[Doormatt]

this is kind of a silly thread though as its obvious people posting in this thread dont even watch soccer. CR7 is one of the most impressive athletes soccer has ever seen and hes getting compared to kyrie irving? come on...

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

lebron would not even be close to an elite player in soccer, hes far too big. if youre that big you have to have some freakish skill like Ibra, otherwise you get Peter Crouch.

and you sound really ignorant, what do you think being american has to do with being a better athlete? do you think we have superior genetics or something? i honestly dont understand.

all major american sports are played only with our hands, while soccer is feet only, so you get different types of athletes participating in these sports. a lower center of gravity is much more valuable in soccer than any other sports, so shorter, stockier athletes tend to excel more.

[GYK]

Richie McCaw vs JJ Watt

[Doormatt]

This is LeBron in an absolute landslide. He's 7-8 inches taller, and has been as much as nearly 100 pounds heavier, the fact that speed/leaping/quickness or any of that is remotely close at all puts this one far out of reach.

I know people want to give respect to other athletes or sports they love, but this isn't close. It's like comparing a dog to a horse, physically.

being 7-8 inches taller and 100 pounds heavier is an incredibly valuable athletic trait in basketball but not in soccer, so i dont see why that should apply here. lebron is definitely a more impressive physical specimen, no doubt, but thats not really the question here imo.

the problem with this question is that theres no way you could prove that lebrons athletic traits would even be portable to a sport like soccer. would lebron even have the stamina at that height and weight to play two-three 90 minute soccer games a week where they do MUCH more running? he'd most definitely have to drop tons of weight to have it be feasible. you cant just ignore something like that, being bigger and stronger doesnt mean anything if you cant translate it to the sport. could lebron even make cuts like ronaldo being that tall and heavy as well? i dont think he could. this is really an apples to oranges comparison since they are totally different types of athletes, both freakish in their own way, yet people are trying to compare them straight up instead of to their respective sports.

also i think your analogy is pretty disrespectful, since were not comparing them as physical specimens, but as athletes. if this was bodybuilding sure that would be apt, but not when it comes to sports. i think a better comparison would be like an aussie cattle dog to a bull terrier - bred to do totally different things.

[GYK]

When has basketball not relied on cuts from defense to dribble moves to drives in a crowded paint?
I admit Americans might not appreciate soccer as the rest of the world does, as it's been their sport for 600 years and they play it casually as we do basketball or football but FIBA/NBA just have a higher concentration of the worlds most athletic players.

[Doormatt]

When has basketball not relied on cuts from defense to dribble moves to drives in a crowded paint?
I admit Americans might not appreciate soccer as the rest of the world does, as it's been their sport for 600 years and they play it casually as we do basketball or football but FIBA/NBA just have a higher concentration of the worlds most athletic players.

cutting while dribbling is not the same as cutting with a ball at your feet.

[GYK]

When has basketball not relied on cuts from defense to dribble moves to drives in a crowded paint?
I admit Americans might not appreciate soccer as the rest of the world does, as it's been their sport for 600 years and they play it casually as we do basketball or football but FIBA/NBA just have a higher concentration of the worlds most athletic players.

cutting while dribbling is not the same as cutting with a ball at your feet.

I get that but of course they can't cut at the high end speeds a basketball does since the ball is in hand and not at their feet.
So yes it's not the same but the speed isn't either.

[Doormatt]

I get that but of course they can't cut at the high end speeds a basketball does since the ball is in hand and not at their feet.
So yes it's not the same but the speed isn't either.

i was simply commenting that it would be incredibly difficult for someone to cut and make moves like CR7 at the height and weight lebron is, thats all.

[GYK]

I get that but of course they can't cut at the high end speeds a basketball does since the ball is in hand and not at their feet.
So yes it's not the same but the speed isn't either.

i was simply commenting that it would be incredibly difficult for someone to cut and make moves like CR7 at the height and weight lebron is, thats all.

Idk.
With the ball at their feet? Of course not. Lebron doesn't have that skill.
To make the same motion in as quick if not quicker time? I certainly believe so.

[bigboi]

this is kind of a silly thread though as its obvious people posting in this thread dont even watch soccer. CR7 is one of the most impressive athletes soccer has ever seen and hes getting compared to kyrie irving? come on...

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

lebron would not even be close to an elite player in soccer, hes far too big. if youre that big you have to have some freakish skill like Ibra, otherwise you get Peter Crouch.

and you sound really ignorant, what do you think being american has to do with being a better athlete? do you think we have superior genetics or something? i honestly dont understand.

all major american sports are played only with our hands, while soccer is feet only, so you get different types of athletes participating in these sports. a lower center of gravity is much more valuable in soccer than any other sports, so shorter, stockier athletes tend to excel more.

I wasn't saying Lebron would be an elite soccer player. I said he is regarded as an elite athlete in basketball and would be considered elite in football and soccer as well. I don't really know or care if he would be good in the sports, he probably wouldn't. Ronaldo or those other elite soccer athletes wouldn't be considered elite athletes in the other sports mentioned.

This is kind of controversial, but if you think about slavery in the Americas then you'll understand. That's all I'm going to say about that.

True, all American major American sports are played with hands, but I wouldn't say soccer relies more on low center of gravity than football. Football is all about who gets lower.

[bigboi]

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

This makes no sense on so many levels.
First America doesn't have the best natural athletes in the world if anything for purely statistical reasons.
Second, there are better athletes in football compared to basketball or american football... for playing football. It requires different features to excel and most american football or basketball players just don't have them at very elite level.
Third, all these guys' bodies have been shaped by the game they played. An american football player would look very different if he'd been trained for rugby all his life, the opposite is true as well.
Fourth, I see more chances that Cristiano could have trained himself into a great basketball player than LeBron excelling in football.

I disagree. I'd say the top American athletes are more athletic than the top athletes from other countries. I'd say the only reason, they are "better" soccer athletes is only due to endurance. But other than that, don't really see them athletically better at anything else. And third is where you're wrong, well mostly in regards to football. Olympic or near Olympic athletes go into football. Lastly, it's possible that he could but Lebron would be known as a freak athletically while Ronaldo wouldn't stand out much

[Doormatt]

I do watch soccer though. Ronaldo may be an impressive soccer athlete, but for American football and basketball standards, he's average or above average at best. Since you think Kyrie is such a bad comparison, Monta would probably be a better one. Similar size, speed, strength, everything. People tend to overrate their athletes, same thing happened with rugby/Aussie Rules football players trying to go to the NFL. People from other countries swore up and down that they were going to be NFL type athletes but they simply weren't. I'm not trying to sound ignorant, but American athletes are typically better than athletes from other parts of the world. Look at some of the top athletes in soccer- Balotelli, Zlatan, Ronaldo. Do you honestly think those players would be considered elite in American football or basketball. Lebron would be elite in both, the soccer players would be pretty mediocre no offense

This makes no sense on so many levels.
First America doesn't have the best natural athletes in the world if anything for purely statistical reasons.
Second, there are better athletes in football compared to basketball or american football... for playing football. It requires different features to excel and most american football or basketball players just don't have them at very elite level.
Third, all these guys' bodies have been shaped by the game they played. An american football player would look very different if he'd been trained for rugby all his life, the opposite is true as well.
Fourth, I see more chances that Cristiano could have trained himself into a great basketball player than LeBron excelling in football.

I disagree. I'd say the top American athletes are more athletic than the top athletes from other countries. I'd say the only reason, they are "better" soccer athletes is only due to endurance. But other than that, don't really see them athletically better at anything else. And third is where you're wrong, well mostly in regards to football. Olympic or near Olympic athletes go into football. Lastly, it's possible that he could but Lebron would be known as a freak athletically while Ronaldo wouldn't stand out much

Unless you think being born in America produces superior genetics, there is no basis for saying we have better athletes. It just doesn't make any sense. Comparing individual countries to the US this might be true, but that's ONLY because the US is so big. Comparing the US to the rest of the world, that doesn't not hold up. It's basic statistics. Like someone said, the sport you play shapes the athletes you are, and since most other countries don't play American sports, they don't compare in those areas.

[Rupert Murdoch]

Peak Fat Ronaldo >>>> Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of size and speed. Fat Ronaldo = footballer version of Lebron

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4EXH9ymsug[/youtube]