Most important Predraft Measurements for NBA bigs?

[Ayt]

Standing reach, duh. Bigs need to defend laterally as well, but defending vertically is far more relevant to the jobs of bigs, and reach is far more directly relevant to rebounding, shot blocking, and scoring inside than wingspan is. If I had to judge a player with only one measurement, I'd choose standing reach. I hate how people ignore it so much.

It makes sense in theory but Antony Davis is a living proof that's not always the case, Best shotblocker in the NBA with a 9"0 standing reach and a 7"5.5 wingspan. Andre Drummond shows the same point, huge wingspan big being super effective despite below average standing reach. The idea that they were measured differently just for that 1 draft seems odd.

I'd agree, but the standing reach measurements were extremely odd for numerous players in that draft.

It is almost impossible that Davis' standing reach is only 9' 0". The average standing reach in the DX database for players at his height (barefoot) is 8'11.5" and he has 4.5 inches in wingspan over the average at his height.

Here is an example. Larry Sanders and Davis both measured 6' 9.25" barefoot, 6' 10.5" in shoes, 222 lbs. Their wingspans were also almost identical with sanders being 1/4 inch longer at 7' 5.75" compared to 7' 5.5" for Davis. Sanders measured with an expected exceptional standing reach of 9' 4". Davis measured with a very average 9' 0".

If you want to look at a guy with a bigger frame, Howard measured 6' 9" with a 7' 4.5" wingspan and a standing reach of 9' 3.5" So .25 shorter, 1 inch less in wingspan, but 3.5 inches more in reach despite his wide shoulders.

[Motorcity]

Measurements were definitely off in 2012. Anthony Davis measured in with a standing reach of 9 feet, the same standing reach as Kenneth Faried and Derrick Williams.

[JLei]

I'm not so sure that it's totally off on Davis.



He's got a long ass neck and low shoulders and a pretty wide shoulder base. He's got pterodactyl arms but it actually makes sense to me that his standing reach was not so amazing.

He's still a ridiculous shot blocker due to his agility and athleticism that helps him get blocks going sideways and different angles that involve his enormous wingspan more so than vertical blocks at the rim like Hibbert.

[Keshavarzi]

Wingspan, a lot of guys seem to throw their standing reach in order to garner a higher max vert

[NO-KG-AI]

I'm not so sure that it's totally off on Davis.



He's got a long ass neck and low shoulders and a pretty wide shoulder base. He's got pterodactyl arms but it actually makes sense to me that his standing reach was not so amazing.

He's still a ridiculous shot blocker due to his agility and athleticism that helps him get blocks going sideways and different angles that involve his enormous wingspan more so than vertical blocks at the rim like Hibbert.

And Drummond too? There really isn't a precedent for guys with arms that long to measure so low on standing reach at their height. Davis would have to be a HUGE outlier in terms of neck length.

[Golabki]

Was wondering about the importance of Wingspan compared to Standing Reach, which one is more relevant to the game of a NBA big? also do they impact different areas of the game? if yes how so?

Also, how important (or unimportant) are the Lane Agility tests for big guys?

Does No Step Vert and Max Vert really make a difference in a player's game? again, which one is more relevant?

That's a really intersting subject that i think could allow us to understand what exactly makes some players great behond the somewhat amorphic "size" and "talent" defenitions.

Appreciate your input.

If you look at the elite defensive bigs in the NBA, all of them have good wingspans, but not all of them have great height/standing reach. Ben Wallace and Mourning are two great examples of this.

I have no clue on lane agility. In general on the athletic testing, I'd say if you are good across the board you are a good athelete, if you are bad across the board it's probably going to be a problem, but otherwise its a big mix