"He's only 6'8 but has a wingspan of a 7 footer"

Pancho_Pantera · Post #1 » by **Pancho_Pantera** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:25 am

Or something like dat.

I don't get it. Explain please.

wallflower · Post #2 » by **wallflower** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:26 am

Get the arms and hands of an average 7 footer and then put them on a person that is shorter. There you go. Or refer to this about about ideal proportions and the elongate the part about the arms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_Man

hype_2004 · Post #3 » by **hype_2004** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:29 am

Pancho_Pantera wrote:Or something like dat.

I don't get it. Explain please.

He's 6'6.5 barefoot and has a wingspan over 7 feet and probably has a standing reach close to 9 feet. It just means he has great length (long arms) for his size and is able to play larger due to his tremendous arm length.

wushui · Post #4 » by **wushui** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:32 am

The average person's wingspan is about the same length as the person's height. So if someone is 5"8, but who has a wingspan of say 6"0 feet, then the person has long arms for his/her size.

M4P · Post #5 » by **M4P** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:33 am

He has long arms.

astrallite · Post #6 » by **astrallite** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:36 am

Well the typical NBA player has longer arms than he is tall (aside from T-Rexs Yao Ming and JJ Reddick).

OJ Mayo for example has what's considered an average NBA wingspan. 6'3 ¼ tall, with a 6'6 wingspan. Blake Griffin was 6'8 ½ with a 6'11 ½ wingspan.

Examples of very good wingspans:
Dwyane Wade 6'3 ¾ tall, 6'10 ¾ wingspan
Shaquille O'Neal 7'1 tall, 7'7 wingspan
Dwight Howard 6'9 tall, 7'4 ½ wingspan.

Example of extreme wingspans
Alonzo Mourning 6'9 ½ tall, 7'6 ½ wingspan
Jason Maxiel 6'5 tall, 7'3 ½ wingspan

Example of poor wingspan
JJ Reddick 6'4 tall, 6'3 ¼ wingspan
Yao Ming 7'5 ½ tall, 7'5 wingspan

Courtesy of Draft Express: http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-dra ... os=0&sort=

rocketsballin · Post #7 » by **rocketsballin** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 5:57 am

kinda like me... im short but i can guard nba pple foot taller than me and more...cuz of my arms and speed, and weight.

im the best playground defender in the universe. all your basketball are belong to me.

astrallite · Post #8 » by **astrallite** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:06 am

roxfashoballin wrote:kinda like me... im short but i can guard nba pple foot taller than me and more...cuz of my arms and speed, and weight.

im the best playground defender in the universe. all your basketball are belong to me.

So you are 4' tall and you can guard 5' NBA players

Guy986 · Post #9 » by **Guy986** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:14 am

Elton Brand?

kdot99 · Post #10 » by **kdot99** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:25 am

astrallite wrote:Well the typical NBA player has longer arms than he is tall (aside from T-Rexs Yao Ming and JJ Reddick).

OJ Mayo for example has what's considered an average NBA wingspan. 6'3 ¼ tall, with a 6'6 wingspan. Blake Griffin was 6'8 ½ with a 6'11 ½ wingspan.

Examples of very good wingspans:
Dwyane Wade 6'3 ¾ tall, 6'10 ¾ wingspan
Shaquille O'Neal 7'1 tall, 7'7 wingspan
Dwight Howard 6'9 tall, 7'4 ½ wingspan.

Example of extreme wingspans
Alonzo Mourning 6'9 ½ tall, 7'6 ½ wingspan
Jason Maxiel 6'5 tall, 7'3 ½ wingspan

Example of poor wingspan
JJ Reddick 6'4 tall, 6'3 ¼ wingspan
Yao Ming 7'5 ½ tall, 7'5 wingspan

Courtesy of Draft Express: http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-dra ... os=0&sort=

wtf

RamonSessions7 · Post #11 » by **RamonSessions7** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:35 am

JackBauerKN wrote:
astrallite wrote:Well the typical NBA player has longer arms than he is tall (aside from T-Rexs Yao Ming and JJ Reddick).

OJ Mayo for example has what's considered an average NBA wingspan. 6'3 ¼ tall, with a 6'6 wingspan. Blake Griffin was 6'8 ½ with a 6'11 ½ wingspan.

Examples of very good wingspans:
Dwyane Wade 6'3 ¾ tall, 6'10 ¾ wingspan
Shaquille O'Neal 7'1 tall, 7'7 wingspan
Dwight Howard 6'9 tall, 7'4 ½ wingspan.

Example of extreme wingspans
Alonzo Mourning 6'9 ½ tall, 7'6 ½ wingspan
Jason Maxiel 6'5 tall, 7'3 ½ wingspan

Example of poor wingspan
JJ Reddick 6'4 tall, 6'3 ¼ wingspan
Yao Ming 7'5 ½ tall, 7'5 wingspan

Courtesy of Draft Express: http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-dra ... os=0&sort=

wtf

Maxiell's is much more ridiculous, 10.5 inches difference. freak

99 Problems · Post #12 » by **99 Problems** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:40 am

I'm 6ft and I have a 6-8 wingspan.. And yeah it really does help guarding people who are taller than you..

Post #13 » by **rsavaj** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:46 am

sounds like ike diogu

astrallite · Post #14 » by **astrallite** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:09 am

When you are talking about guards, wingspan is important in terms of their ability to play the passing lanes as well as protect the ball on the dribble.

With bigs the focus is more on standing a reach. A guy like Bosh plays like a guy shorter because he's got such a long neck. A guy like Dwight Howard may only be about 6-10 but his shoulders are as high as Bynum's and higher than Pau Gasol's, both guys who are about 3 inches taller than him. As a result his standing reach is around 9'4, which is right there with most 7'+ centers. Shawn Marion is another example. He's only about 6'5 but his shoulders are ridiculously high.

BallersTalk · Post #15 » by **BallersTalk** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:47 am

I find wingspan to be so much more important playing basketball than just raw height, especially in the NBA, where every play is so tightly officiated. For example, if Yao had a better wingspan, he'd be able to avoid all those fouls he commits when going for blocks because his body always hits the defender. Were his arms longer, he'd be able to just reach across and swat at the ball without making contact with the offensive player.

Marc3287 · Post #16 » by **Marc3287** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:44 am

This is really interesting, I have never read too much about wingspans. Of course there are a lot of factors, but may wingspan be a better indicator of size than height? A player like Maxiell seems too short for the position, but the wingspan gives an indication of one of the reasons he can overcome his lack of height. The same can even be said for Dwight Howard, 6'9, but with his wingspan, he is far closer to the average center.

All this seems to indicate wingspan is definitely not considered heavily enough. Interesting going on Draft Express and seeing that most of the successful players have a nice wingspan compared to their height, and players with weaker wingspans haven't been as successful though there are of course exceptions and you have to take into account there are far fewer players with lower wingspans so there are naturally going to be fewer successes. This mostly seems relevant with guards and forwards since most centers with weaker wingspans like Yao are really tall anyway and have that advantage.

Looking at Draft Express the last few years players with a lower wingspan have not been very successful. Makes you wonder if young guards like Stephen Curry, Ty Lawson, Eric Maynor, and Jerryd Bayless can overcome this through other factors.

doozyj · Post #17 » by **doozyj** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:15 am

I heard Kevin Durant has a great wingspan as well.

Dr Aki · Post #18 » by **Dr Aki** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:49 am

play on the monkey bars

your arms will stretch

Coxy · Post #19 » by **Coxy** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:56 am

Yao Ming

Clangus · Post #20 » by **Clangus** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:26 am

Kevin Durant — Wingspan: 7'4.75