For years people have called Tim Duncan unathletic, why is Okafor considered a good

[IGOTGAME]

athlete? Duncan seems to outclass him athletically from what i can see.

[navy]

Okay....

[Cocaine80s]

Whos calling Okafor a good athlete?

Ive seen a lot of people here calling him unathletic

[christian1923]

Why do you try to diminish the kid every day?

You a Tar Heel fan?

[UK2K]

Okafor happens to have a near flawless low post game.

So whatever people want to say about his athleticism doesnt really matter.

[Jud]

I don't I've heard people say he's a good athlete.

[sundizz]

Young to Prime Tim Duncan was not unathletic. Even now he is not unathletic. In his younger/prime days he was very agile, had quickness, could jump high enough given his height/length and was very strong with superior body control.

[KNOW1EDGE]

In his Prime Timmy was very athletic.
Just because a guy is fundamentally sound, plays smart basketball and isn't overzealous doesn't mean he is unathletic.

Now, Since Tim is 29 years old, I'd guess Okafor can run faster and jump higher.

[T_L_P]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXIz0NF-5NQ

Pre-2000 Duncan was a heck of an athlete.

Even after that (2001-2009) he was still a good athlete, with superior length and basketball IQ.

[ralph_i_el]

I have never seen someone say young Okafor is a better athlete than a young Tim Duncan.
Okafor is also 20-30 lbs heavier than Tim.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Okafor is physically huge without being fat. When you're 6'10 270 with a 7'3 inch wingspan you don't need a 40 inch vertical. Especially when you have a post game that's already better than the vast majority of NBA bigs. He will struggle defending perimeter bigs but none of the 6'9 240 3-point shooters that teams throw out there to take him away from the basket will be able to guard him or keep him off the boards and they're going to get more fouls defending him than he will defending them because they'll be trying to body him up in the paint while he'll just be out of position on the perimeter. Expect him to approach 20/10 as a rookie.

[IGOTGAME]

I have never seen someone say young Okafor is a better athlete than a young Tim Duncan.
Okafor is also 20-30 lbs heavier than Tim.

I'm just confused as to why the issue isn't brought up more. I've sat through years of hearing about how unathletic Timmy is(false, he is a great athlete) and now Okafor is getting this hype(mostly warranted) but no one talks about potential issues.

Just seems odd to me.

[IGOTGAME]

Okafor is physically huge without being fat. When you're 6'10 270 with a 7'3 inch wingspan you don't need a 40 inch vertical. Especially when you have a post game that's already better than the vast majority of NBA bigs. He will struggle defending perimeter bigs but none of the 6'9 240 3-point shooters that teams throw out there to take him away from the basket will be able to guard him or keep him off the boards and they're going to get more fouls defending him than he will defending them because they'll be trying to body him up in the paint while he'll just be out of position on the perimeter. Expect him to approach 20/10 as a rookie.

I agree with most of this but my concern wasn't his vert. Also, he doesn't seem to play up to his standing reach but maybe he will learn angles better as he plays more.

I'm big on him and hope my team lands him.

Also, his post game is top notch. But he is going to have to fix some right handed push shots over his left shoulder. They may not work against guys closer to his height. But I suspect he gets even bigger and bullies almost everyone in the league regardless.

[ralph_i_el]

I'm just confused as to why the issue isn't brought up more. I've sat through years of hearing about how unathletic Timmy is(false, he is a great athlete) and now Okafor is getting this hype(mostly warranted) but no one talks about potential issues.

Just seems odd to me.

I have never seen anyone say that Timmy was unathletic on this forum.
I've seen many people say Okafor was unathletic the last 6 months.

Timmy is the normal size for a center. Okafor is a load. Okafor is going to come into the league as one of the 10-15 heaviest players next season, and his footwork is beautiful. That's a different type of athleticism than people are used to.

[BuffaloBill]

Who thinks Tim Duncan is unathletic? :biggums:



Is that even a real word?

[Pointguard]

Both Timmy and Oak have superb balance/coordination/foot speed and timing all of which subscribe to athleticism. I coach guys less than 150lbs who had trouble with doing a spin move because of balance more so than foot movement.

[hawksdogsbraves]

I'm not quite sold on Okafor. His defense in the games I've seen has been atrocious. UNC went after him in the paint on nearly every possession and faced zero resistance.

I just don't know that below the rim centers who aren't good shot blockers are really en vogue right now in the NBA.

Al Jefferson has put up a lot of big numbers in his career, but there's a reason why he has never and will never be successful if he's the best player on the team.

[CP343]

I don't quite understand the OP's point.