Which NBA Player Can Squat the Most?

[Meat]

I'm totally new in this. I don't understand why people mention small guys, it's obvious bigger guys like Mbenga, Pekovic, Shaq or Wilt, will lift more right? Unless it's proportional to your weight , why mention Lowry, CP3 or Nate?

Also, why are people mentioning vertical jump as a factor?

It's called torque... It's a quite simple principle in physics. Torque = Force x Distance.

Think of a breaker bar or torque wrench. You didn't magically get stronger to break a bolt loose... The longer the handle on a breaker bar is, the more torque you can apply.

Now think of doing something like say a bicep curl... The longer your forearm is, the more torque you have to apply to lift the dumbbell.

Edit:. Other people are close when talking about distance and "leverage".. but they're not quite there and missing the basic principle. It all boils down to torque.

umm force x distance is work not torque, but what you're describing is the moment arm

[Meat]

Steph

Steph has tiny legs lol. No chance.

Do people here not work out? Lotta weird answers so far. And people don’t seem to understand that vertical leap doesn’t have really anything to do with how built your leg muscles are. It’s quick twitch muscle fibers, achilles length, and other factors that are simply genetic.

I’m 5’9 and used to be able to dunk off oops a few years ago when I was 135 lbs soaking wet and could only squat 135 for reps. My legs were toothpicks. Now at 170 (at the same body fat %) after 5 years of consistent lifting, I’m squatting 2.5 times what I was, yet my vertical has decreased a solid 3-4 inches and I can’t dunk anymore. Just because I’m carrying more weight on me now, even if it is due to muscle.

right, but no one is born jumping their genetic limit and no one is saying sport specific training isn't a factor, but to say a squat won't help you jump higher(if you're not at your limit) is mental.

your inability to dunk has nothing to do with you squating and everything to do with you not training that specific skill

[ken6199]

MWP
Blake Griffin
Chuck Hayes
Prime Dwight could be a surprise.

Did OP really mention Boban???

[BNM]

Muggsy Bogues:

[MotownMadness]

Muggsy Bogues:

Damn, dudes got some Barry Sanders legs going

[Ballerhogger]

[alphatron10]

Semi Ojeleye got a dump truck on him

[MotownMadness]

OG is another one, remember that dudes legs in the little college shorts

[TheSheriff]

Who are the GOATS of squat?

Barkley
Shaq
Wilt of course
Pekovic
Mark Eaton
Some beast from the 40s we haven't discovered yet
Prime Harden

I could see any of them putting up 5, 600 pounds. But I don't know. Who is the Best?

Vitaly Potapenko.

[Salieri]

This has been discussed before. The guys who lift heaviest are usually shorter, stockier with smaller wing spans. So NBA players in general won't be the best at it, but if you were to pick one, it'd likely be someone that resembles a fire hydrant, like Kyle Lowry.

And 1 for "resembles a fire hydrant"

Absolutely! I legit laughed out loud when I read it

If this thread had been opened in the Raptors subforum, that post would have 80 +1s

[bdp31770]

Surprised no one has said PJ Tucker yet. Mans looks like he could squat a school bus.

Came here to say that. He's got to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest.

[tdotrep2]

zion would be my guess, but a lot of it is training the central nervous system as opposed to raw power.

[Roy The Natural]

I'm totally new in this. I don't understand why people mention small guys, it's obvious bigger guys like Mbenga, Pekovic, Shaq or Wilt, will lift more right? Unless it's proportional to your weight , why mention Lowry, CP3 or Nate?

Also, why are people mentioning vertical jump as a factor?

It's called torque... It's a quite simple principle in physics. Torque = Force x Distance.

Think of a breaker bar or torque wrench. You didn't magically get stronger to break a bolt loose... The longer the handle on a breaker bar is, the more torque you can apply.

Now think of doing something like say a bicep curl... The longer your forearm is, the more torque you have to apply to lift the dumbbell.

Edit:. Other people are close when talking about distance and "leverage".. but they're not quite there and missing the basic principle. It all boils down to torque.

umm force x distance is work not torque, but what you're describing is the moment arm

Ummm no... I'm pretty sure I'm on point. Now, maybe you misunderstood. Torque is rF sin theta. I just called it force times distance... But I'm not talking the distance you're thinking of.

What exactly did you think torque was? I thought my examples would make it clear that I was referring distance from the pivot multiplied by force applied at that assigned distance from the pivot point. I'm not talking about the distance something is moved via a force.

I mean... in imperial units, torque is literally ft-lbs or inch-lbs or some other distance x force measurement? How do you think those units are achieved? Clearly through multiplying a force times a distance... or for clarity, the radial distance that the force is located away from the pivot point.

[thamadkant]

Sounds like you just discovered squatting at the gym

Lol. Yeah OP sounds like he just realised why it is called the king of exercises. If no one has time to exercise... just do 10 minutes of squats, maybe 3 sets of 8 reps and it would be sufficient...assuming the weight is also sufficient.

[og15]

Sounds like you just discovered squatting at the gym

Lol. Yeah OP sounds like he just realised why it is called the king of exercises. If no one has time to exercise... just do 10 minutes of squats, maybe 3 sets of 8 reps and it would be sufficient...assuming the weight is also sufficient.

And if you have knee issues, the Bulgarian Split Squat is a nice alternative

[step]

I'm totally new in this. I don't understand why people mention small guys, it's obvious bigger guys like Mbenga, Pekovic, Shaq or Wilt, will lift more right? Unless it's proportional to your weight , why mention Lowry, CP3 or Nate?

Also, why are people mentioning vertical jump as a factor?

It's called torque... It's a quite simple principle in physics. Torque = Force x Distance.

Think of a breaker bar or torque wrench. You didn't magically get stronger to break a bolt loose... The longer the handle on a breaker bar is, the more torque you can apply.

Now think of doing something like say a bicep curl... The longer your forearm is, the more torque you have to apply to lift the dumbbell.

Edit:. Other people are close when talking about distance and "leverage".. but they're not quite there and missing the basic principle. It all boils down to torque.

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1924-what-levers-does-your-body-use

[step]

Sounds like you just discovered squatting at the gym

Lol. Yeah OP sounds like he just realised why it is called the king of exercises. If no one has time to exercise... just do 10 minutes of squats, maybe 3 sets of 8 reps and it would be sufficient...assuming the weight is also sufficient.

And if you have knee issues, the Bulgarian Split Squat is a nice alternative

Thubms up. Unilateral work is grossly underdone and underplayed in my view. Bulgarians and lunges (and if you truly have some bad knees and or coordination, reverse lunges) make for some great alternatives and accessory exercises... for those wanting to add on top of their normal deadlifts and squats.

[step]

I know he got ridiculed for this... but to play devil's advocate, partial squats have a place, especially for basketball players. Most of the jumping activity is in like the first quarter range.

Nor did we have his entire workout regimen for that workout session, let alone for that entire cycle (heh, cycle )

[Roy The Natural]

I'm totally new in this. I don't understand why people mention small guys, it's obvious bigger guys like Mbenga, Pekovic, Shaq or Wilt, will lift more right? Unless it's proportional to your weight , why mention Lowry, CP3 or Nate?

Also, why are people mentioning vertical jump as a factor?

It's called torque... It's a quite simple principle in physics. Torque = Force x Distance.

Think of a breaker bar or torque wrench. You didn't magically get stronger to break a bolt loose... The longer the handle on a breaker bar is, the more torque you can apply.

Now think of doing something like say a bicep curl... The longer your forearm is, the more torque you have to apply to lift the dumbbell.

Edit:. Other people are close when talking about distance and "leverage".. but they're not quite there and missing the basic principle. It all boils down to torque.

https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1924-what-levers-does-your-body-use

Not sure what the point about levers you're trying to make is... Levers are made up of torques... The dude on the one side of the beam is gaining mechanical advantage strictly due to the relationship of rF sin theta.

Mechanical Advantage is just a more generic higher level relation to torque. How do you think gears work to gain mechanical advantage..... Torque.... How do you think pulleys work... Torque.... How to levers work... Torque. It's all about finding a force through relating torques and and translating distances.

[NO-KG-AI]

Zion has to be the oddest combination of height/weight+leaping ability and lower leg burst/explosion. He might have been tailor made for squats and deadlifts among NBA players. He's among the heaviest guys in the league, and the most powerful legs. No one near his weight is approaching that kind of raw power they can convert into explosive movements from their lower body, and none of the guys that heavy are close to as short as him lol.