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In terms of athletic ability how many players in NBA history have a case over David Robinson?

among bigs? russel, wilt, hakeem, shaq

among all positions is harder to compare athletism

falcolombardi wrote:among bigs? russel, wilt, hakeem, shaq

among all positions is harder to compare athletism

Yeah, for bigs these ones are the ultimate 5. I'd say that 1970s twin towers are underrated athletically - Kareem and Gilmore.

That said, Robinson was absurd athlete. I don't think I'd put anyone over him, maybe with the exception of Wilt/Shaq.

70sFan wrote:

falcolombardi wrote:among bigs? russel, wilt, hakeem, shaq

among all positions is harder to compare athletism

Yeah, for bigs these ones are the ultimate 5. I'd say that 1970s twin towers are underrated athletically - Kareem and Gilmore.

That said, Robinson was absurd athlete. I don't think I'd put anyone over him, maybe with the exception of Wilt/Shaq.

gilmore combination of height/lenght, power and mobility is really interesting even if he didnt have the wild running/hops of a robinson (going off highlights here tbh)

kareem is also interesting cause his mobility at his height is absurd

someone i would include in the combo hss to be giannis and younger davis although maybe a tad lower?

Very, very few. I think 70sFan and falcon outlined a nice start.

Ralph Sampson has to get at least a mention for being that mobile at 7'4. Kevin Garnett in his youth was VERY athletic. Ewing should get some kind of mention. I don't really think they're top tier because they lack the full size, but Kemp and pre-surgery Amare come to mind. Even Dwight, though again, now we're venturing away from full 7-footers and that size down into that 6'9, 6'10 range, which isn't quite the same thing. D-Rob was like 7'1, 270. Shaq was 7'1 290 when he was drafted, give or take. Wilt was like 7'1, 260 and one of the strongest guys we've seen (maybe the strongest, come his Lakers days).

Not a ton of choices, and Robinson was insane. Walking a handstand to halfcourt, his speed, bounce and coordination. Just... what an athletic marvel.

falcolombardi wrote:

70sFan wrote:

falcolombardi wrote:among bigs? russel, wilt, hakeem, shaq

among all positions is harder to compare athletism

Yeah, for bigs these ones are the ultimate 5. I'd say that 1970s twin towers are underrated athletically - Kareem and Gilmore.

That said, Robinson was absurd athlete. I don't think I'd put anyone over him, maybe with the exception of Wilt/Shaq.

gilmore combination of height/lenght, power and mobility is really interesting even if he didnt have the wild running/hops of a robinson (going off highlights here tbh)

kareem is also interesting cause his mobility at his height is absurd

someone i would include in the combo hss to be giannis and younger davis although maybe a tad lower?

Gilmore lacked some speed and mobility, but he had higher vertical leap than Robinson from what I've seen. There are reports saying that Artis could almost touch top of the backboard.

70sFan wrote:

falcolombardi wrote:

70sFan wrote:Yeah, for bigs these ones are the ultimate 5. I'd say that 1970s twin towers are underrated athletically - Kareem and Gilmore.

That said, Robinson was absurd athlete. I don't think I'd put anyone over him, maybe with the exception of Wilt/Shaq.

gilmore combination of height/lenght, power and mobility is really interesting even if he didnt have the wild running/hops of a robinson (going off highlights here tbh)

kareem is also interesting cause his mobility at his height is absurd

someone i would include in the combo hss to be giannis and younger davis although maybe a tad lower?

Gilmore lacked some speed and mobility, but he had higher vertical leap than Robinson from what I've seen. There are reports saying that Artis could almost touch top of the backboard.

what separated wilt and gilmore athletically speaking?

falcolombardi wrote:
what separated wilt and gilmore athletically speaking?

Speed, agility and coordination.

falcolombardi wrote:

70sFan wrote:

falcolombardi wrote:
gilmore combination of height/lenght, power and mobility is really interesting even if he didnt have the wild running/hops of a robinson (going off highlights here tbh)

kareem is also interesting cause his mobility at his height is absurd

someone i would include in the combo hss to be giannis and younger davis although maybe a tad lower?

Gilmore lacked some speed and mobility, but he had higher vertical leap than Robinson from what I've seen. There are reports saying that Artis could almost touch top of the backboard.

what separated wilt and gilmore athletically speaking?

Speed and coordination.

High school Zion - duke zion lol

Lebron and MJ definitely have a case but it's hard to compare perimeter guys to bigs. With that being said, Robinson is probably a lock top-10 overall, he was a freakshow.

It depends. When I see "athletic," I am immediately thinking "strictly for basketball." In that context, the most athletic players I've ever seen are Olajuwon, Jordan, Shaq, LeBron, and Giannis.

Shout out to Ben Simmons. His end-to-end speed at 6'10'' is truly unlike anything I've ever seen. (Haven't seen if for a while, though!) I'm not putting him with the five I listed or with D-Rob, but he deserves a shout out here.