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Obviously Ant is one of the most athletic players in league history but can anyone recall players with similar athleticism that didn’t work out in the league?

I was watching Terrance Shannon who is extremely athletic but was still clearly nowhere near as athletic as Ant and just thought it was interesting..

Ant doesn't get enough praise for his athleticism because he is only 6'4". If he was 6'8" people would see him as a LeBron level athlete. He is every bit as fast and quick as anyone else in the league but he is doing it while being built like a truck.

Imagine Amen Thompson if he was 40 pounds heavier.

Ant has generational functional athleticism. Usually players like that work out in this league.

firedavidkahn wrote:Ant doesn't get enough praise for his athleticism because he is only 6'4". If he was 6'8" people would see him as a LeBron level athlete. He is every bit as fast and quick as anyone else in the league but he is doing it while being built like a truck.

Imagine Amen Thompson if he was 40 pounds heavier.

The comparison to Lebron doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A very large part of what makes Lebron so imposing from a physical standpoint is the way he used to be able to move at that size, with that power. You can't really handwave that away, you know?

Ant is a remarkable athlete, of course, beyond that point. Wish he used it to do more than bomb threes more regularly, but he's still pretty intense from a physical standpoint.

I always marvel at how Ant absolutely skys for rebounds.

tsherkin wrote:Wish he used it to do more than bomb threes more regularly, but he's still pretty intense from a physical standpoint.

He's getting 45% of his shot attempts from inside 10 feet during this playoff run. What more do you really want from him?

This is all despite both the Lakers and Warriors daring the Wolves to shoot 3s in order to pack the paint against Ant's drives.

cupcakesnake wrote:

tsherkin wrote:Wish he used it to do more than bomb threes more regularly, but he's still pretty intense from a physical standpoint.

He's getting 45% of his shot attempts from inside 10 feet during this playoff run. What more do you really want from him?

This is all despite both the Lakers and Warriors daring the Wolves to shoot 3s in order to pack the paint against Ant's drives.

This! Furthermore, when bigs play drop, Ant plays smart and takes what they give him.

Derrick Jones Jr, Emmanuel Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr., Scoot Henderson.

Statlanta wrote:Derrick Jones Jr, Emmanuel Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr., Scoot Henderson.

None of these guys approach Ants athleticism.

fanofthegreats wrote:

Statlanta wrote:Derrick Jones Jr, Emmanuel Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr., Scoot Henderson.

None of these guys approach Ants athleticism.

I feel like you are using their NBA success to judge their athleticism but agree to disagree.

The remarkable thing to me about Ant is that he seems to just float around the court at all times. He’s incredibly light on his feet, which pair with his explosiveness makes him incredibly fun to watch.

Depends a bit with what you mean with working out, since some of them had solid careers as role players, but players that come to my mind are the following.

Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson, Jamario Moon, James White, Gerald Green, Stromile Swift, Tyrus Thomas, Darius Miles.

he doesn't look like 6'4... he's definitely taller than DWade

Darvin Ham

NBA history is full of freak athletes who weren't great.

James White
Gerald Green

I know there's way more but I'm too old to remember

I don’t agree that Ant is one of the most athletic players in NBA history tho, especially if we are talking basketball athleticism.

Even perimeter players

MJ
Morant
Westbrook
Wade
Clyde
Julius Irving
David Thompson
Rose
Kobe
TMac
Vince
Allen Iverson
Lebron

Not even factoring in

Wilt
Shaq
Hakeem
Kevin Garnett
Giannis
Zion
Barkley

His small hands and lack of agility really hamper him in a basketball context.

If we’re putting together a list of best athletes, I don’t know if Ant fits the mold imo. He just doesn’t really consistently show the ability to dominate and impose his will on the game physically like many others have.

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I mean due to injuries of course, but Derrick Rose.

Kedrick Brown wasn't too far off

Statlanta wrote:Derrick Jones Jr, Emmanuel Mudiay, Dennis Smith Jr., Scoot Henderson.

Scoot is somewhat average athletically, his long wingspan and big hands do most of the work.

CodeBreaker wrote:he doesn't look like 6'4... he's definitely taller than DWade

Wade is 6ft3 without shoes, Ant is 6ft4 without shoes...