Dwight Howard or Lebron James athletic ability

tracey_nice · Post #1 » by **tracey_nice** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:06 pm

Both would be considered athletics freaks, but who is the bigger freak?

OmniDEN · Post #2 » by **OmniDEN** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:16 pm

Most people will probably say Dwight, but I'll go with LeBron. He's literally the perfect athlete in terms of a combination of speed and strength.

hermes · Post #3 » by **hermes** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:13 pm

lebron

Cammo101 · Post #4 » by **Cammo101** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:15 pm

It is LeBron, though Dwight is 6'11'' so this really should be graded on a curve. LeBron is the best athlete in NBA history.

D.Brasco · Post #5 » by **D.Brasco** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:40 pm

LeBron he uses his skills better i would say. Its hard to measure though howard is taller but i'm pretty sure lebron has a higher pure vert. Comparatively for position wise, lebron is much stronger compared to his fellow sf's than howard is to the other centers.

jzmagik · Post #6 » by **jzmagik** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:40 pm

Lebron is by far the best athlete at his height. His combination of strength and speed is unmatched by anyone in the league right now.

Post #7 » by **tsherkin** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:17 pm

D.Brasco wrote:LeBron he uses his skills better i would say.

Not that this has any relevance to the thread...

Its hard to measure though howard is taller but i'm pretty sure lebron has a higher pure vert.

You'd stand a good chance of being wrong; Dwight's vertical leap was measured at 36" at his pre-Draft Combine testing and it's harder to be athletic the taller and heavier you are; Dwight's 2 inches taller than Lebron and about 20, 25 pounds heavier.

Comparatively for position wise, lebron is much stronger compared to his fellow sf's than howard is to the other centers.

Going to disagree on this one, too... I can't think of someone beyond Shaq who really has much of a chance at matching Dwight for raw muscle power.

With Lebron, he's got to worry about Paul Pierce (to some extent, though Lebron is clearly stronger), Carmelo, Corey Maggette, Rudy Gay and Ron Artest, to say nothing of the power forwards he occasionally faces.

Patterns · Post #8 » by **Patterns** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:19 pm

Dwight is more athletic. There are a lot of 6'8 SF's who jump just as high as James, just as fast but not nearly as strong.

There is no one like Dwight in the league. Not even close.

_BBIB_ · Post #9 » by **_BBIB_** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:34 pm

Patterns wrote:Dwight is more athletic. There are a lot of 6'8 SF's who jump just as high as James, just as fast but not nearly as strong.

There is no one like Dwight in the league. Not even close.

So you leave out Lebron's strength?

What hypocrisy because if I left out Dwight Howard's strength he wouldn't be that impressive either.

Lebron's strength is one of his biggest assets. LOL @ you trying to take it away.

Lebron could probably be the greatest TE of all-time if he played football.

He's that athletic.

BTW, I'd love for you to name a 6'8 player who can run as fast and jump as high as Lebron.

Josh Smith for instance can jump as high but he would get completely destroyed in a race down the court with/without the basketball

Storm Surge · Post #10 » by **Storm Surge** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:38 pm

LeBron has the better combination of strength and quickness that lets him own up the court.

Sedale Threatt · Post #11 » by **Sedale Threatt** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 11:49 pm

I have seen players like Dwight Howard -- David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shawn Kemp just off the top of my head.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything like LeBron James.

tracey_nice · Post #12 » by **tracey_nice** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:00 am

_BBIB_ wrote:
Patterns wrote:Dwight is more athletic. There are a lot of 6'8 SF's who jump just as high as James, just as fast but not nearly as strong.

There is no one like Dwight in the league. Not even close.

So you leave out Lebron's strength?

What hypocrisy because if I left out Dwight Howard's strength he wouldn't be that impressive either.

Lebron's strength is one of his biggest assets. LOL @ you trying to take it away.

Lebron could probably be the greatest TE of all-time if he played football.

He's that athletic.

BTW, I'd love for you to name a 6'8 player who can run as fast and jump as high as Lebron.

Josh Smith for instance can jump as high but he would get completely destroyed in a race down the court with/without the basketball

I'd say Lebron would be one of the best receivers to ever play, while Dwight would be the greatest TE of all-time or maybe even DE.

Jemini80 · Post #13 » by **Jemini80** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:42 am

^^^^
um no you cannot predict either of those. You have no idea how either reacts to being hit by a real football player. Those presumptions are just ignorant and disrespectful to football players. Neither have the toughness of a Ron Artest where you know he wouldn't be afraid about being hit.

D.Brasco · Post #14 » by **D.Brasco** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:26 am

tsherkin wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Going to disagree on this one, too... I can't think of someone beyond Shaq who really has much of a chance at matching Dwight for raw muscle power.

With Lebron, he's got to worry about Paul Pierce (to some extent, though Lebron is clearly stronger), Carmelo, Corey Maggette, Rudy Gay and Ron Artest, to say nothing of the power forwards he occasionally faces.

Well i disagree with some of the other above points you mentioned. How a player uses their athletic skills i feel is quite relevant. I would never call james white a better athlete than dwyane wade just because he can jump higher.

Dwight's vert was measured at 35 or 36 inches true but lebrons vert was measured at 37 inches when he was still 17 i'm sure its improved since especially with the lower body training i know lebron does So im sure im correct in stating that in pure vert lebron can jump higher.

Strenght wise i stand by my point that lebron is proportionally stronger to his position that dwight is. You put a kwame brown to body up dwight and his strength is somewhat nullified. Dwight can still beat him by speed but he wont purely muscle him out. With lebron what sf can body up lebron to the point he can't muscle through? Mayber artest but that's it. Aside from kwame, there's yao who i've seen out muscle dwight. there are quite a few big bodied centres who can at least make dwight rely more on speed against them than his muscle. dwight still doesn't have the massive lower body strenght that shaq or even yao now has.

Post #15 » by **NO-KG-AI** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:09 am

As far as being football players, they would both be thin for there respective heights, and as tall as they are, they would not have great leverage, or wouldn't be able to break tackles or shed blocks well..... not to mention that you guys FAR overrate the impact of athleticism in pro football.

Post #16 » by **miller31time** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:16 am

Sedale Threatt wrote:I have seen players like Dwight Howard -- David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shawn Kemp just off the top of my head.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything like LeBron James.

That's basically what it comes down to for me as well.

Post #17 » by **tsherkin** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 5:21 am

D.Brasco wrote:Well i disagree with some of the other above points you mentioned. How a player uses their athletic skills i feel is quite relevant. I would never call james white a better athlete than dwyane wade just because he can jump higher.

Well, that's just ridiculous. The one pertains to physical traits, the other pertains to mental acuity and development of skills.

If I jump higher, run faster end-to-end and am more agile, then I'm more athletic, regardless of how crappy my jumpshot is, whether or not I can dribble and such like.

Skills make better BASKETBALL players but not better athletes. Skill and athleticism are mutually exclusive concepts except insofar as skills that rely on a certain level of athletic ability, such as mid-air adjustment and what-not.

Dwight's vert was measured at 35 or 36 inches true but lebrons vert was measured at 37 inches when he was still 17 i'm sure its improved since especially with the lower body training i know lebron does So im sure im correct in stating that in pure vert lebron can jump higher.

Yeah but Dwight has also evidenced the ability to jump higher since then too, he wasn't very old when that was measured either. He's clearly demonstrated the ability to kiss the rim; what does that require, ITO vertical?

He needs 37" of vert just to get the top of his head level with the rim, nevermind his lips with his head parallel to the court as he did in the dunk video on TNT.

Strenght wise i stand by my point that lebron is proportionally stronger to his position that dwight is.

No, I disagree, because Lebron plays forward and that means he runs into power forwards.

You put a kwame brown to body up dwight and his strength is somewhat nullified.

Not really, no; there's no empirical evidence to support that claim, really.

Dwight can still beat him by speed but he wont purely muscle him out. With lebron what sf can body up lebron to the point he can't muscle through? Mayber artest but that's it.

Again, 'Melo, Maggette and Artest at LEAST.

Aside from kwame, there's yao who i've seen out muscle dwight.

Outmuscle? Never. Work around because he's taller and can shoot and has great footwork? Yeah, but that's different.

skones · Post #18 » by **skones** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:29 am

Lebron James probably weighs between 255-260. Dwight Howard probably weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 265-270. That makes them separated by a mere 10 lbs at most. Lebron James moves like he does at that weight. Do you have any idea what kind of athlete you have to be to move like he does at that size and weight? Guys just don't do that. There are 7 footers in the league lighter than Lebron is.

tracey_nice · Post #19 » by **tracey_nice** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:38 am

Lebron was actually an amazing high school football player and was recruited by every major football collage as a wide receiver. I think its safe to say that with his unbelievable combination of speed and height(not to mention strength) and the fact that hes 4 inches taller than Burress who is considered a big receiver, that Lebron has the makings of being a great wide receiver.

Taiwan Killa · Post #20 » by **Taiwan Killa** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:40 am

NO-KG-AI wrote:As far as being football players, they would both be thin for there respective heights, and as tall as they are, they would not have great leverage, or wouldn't be able to break tackles or shed blocks well..... not to mention that you guys FAR overrate the impact of athleticism in pro football.

What the hell is football? Take that boring crap elsewhere Reggie Bush. This is the NBA, the only sport that matters.