MJ and...strobe lights? The man always looked for an edge

[Da_Realist]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18002545/kawhi-leonard-strobe-light-training-nba

[SamuraiSWISH]

Mythic. Legend.

[Dray n Klay]

Quitter. Coward.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Quitter. Coward.
Yes, we all watched "the Decision" summer 2010.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Jordan's basketball smarts were extremely underrated. As you said, he was always looking for an edge. First he led began the trend of weight training (this really only caught on among a majority of players after Jordan started doing so in 1990), and now we learn of this too. What's even more interesting is that he made this connection himself - realizing that if he trained with the strobes it would help him in-game. It wasn't like Grover suggested it. And now it's being used by top players. Go figure.

This may partially help to explain why Jordan had, according to the expert who administered the test to hundreds of professional baseball/basketball/hockey players over the course of 15+ years, by far the best reaction/response time on a sensory perception test they give to pro athletes. in this test, there is a grid of 12-16 boxes, and a light will briefly flash in one of the boxes; the athlete has to hit the corresponding box. The guy said that prior to Jordan, former MLB MVP Frank White had the best response time of something like .21 seconds. He said that Jordan destroyed that mark, coming in at .11 seconds. He said that this indicated not only superior reflexes/vision, but also a tremendous ability to concentrate.

After I read that story, a lot of stuff made sense. Such as how Jordan could almost always seem to get all ball on weird angle block/strip attempts no matter the timing or positioning. Just tremendous vision and concentration.

[Orlando Magic]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Jordan's basketball smarts were extremely underrated.

On the court... while playing... that's where that ends. He's a terrible owner, terrible GM and he'd be an even worse coach.

[egokiller]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Jordan's basketball smarts were extremely underrated. As you said, he was always looking for an edge. First he led began the trend of weight training (this really only caught on among a majority of players after Jordan started doing so in 1990), and now we learn of this too. What's even more interesting is that he made this connection himself - realizing that if he trained with the strobes it would help him in-game. It wasn't like Grover suggested it. And now it's being used by top players. Go figure.

This may partially help to explain why Jordan had, according to the expert who administered the test to hundreds of professional baseball/basketball/hockey players over the course of 15+ years, by far the best reaction/response time on a sensory perception test they give to pro athletes. in this test, there is a grid of 12-16 boxes, and a light will briefly flash in one of the boxes; the athlete has to hit the corresponding box. The guy said that prior to Jordan, former MLB MVP Frank White had the best response time of something like .21 seconds. He said that Jordan destroyed that mark, coming in at .11 seconds. He said that this indicated not only superior reflexes/vision, but also a tremendous ability to concentrate.

After I read that story, a lot of stuff made sense. Such as how Jordan could almost always seem to get all ball on weird angle block/strip attempts no matter the timing or positioning. Just tremendous vision and concentration.

Never heard about this before. Lebron would probably be like a full second or more.

[Sarcastic]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Jordan's basketball smarts were extremely underrated. As you said, he was always looking for an edge. First he led began the trend of weight training (this really only caught on among a majority of players after Jordan started doing so in 1990), and now we learn of this too. What's even more interesting is that he made this connection himself - realizing that if he trained with the strobes it would help him in-game. It wasn't like Grover suggested it. And now it's being used by top players. Go figure.

This may partially help to explain why Jordan had, according to the expert who administered the test to hundreds of professional baseball/basketball/hockey players over the course of 15+ years, by far the best reaction/response time on a sensory perception test they give to pro athletes. in this test, there is a grid of 12-16 boxes, and a light will briefly flash in one of the boxes; the athlete has to hit the corresponding box. The guy said that prior to Jordan, former MLB MVP Frank White had the best response time of something like .21 seconds. He said that Jordan destroyed that mark, coming in at .11 seconds. He said that this indicated not only superior reflexes/vision, but also a tremendous ability to concentrate.

After I read that story, a lot of stuff made sense. Such as how Jordan could almost always seem to get all ball on weird angle block/strip attempts no matter the timing or positioning. Just tremendous vision and concentration.


That's what they mean when they say the game slows down for some players. They can literally see things that others can't.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Never heard about this before. Lebron would probably be like a full second or more.

Yeah, it's a story recounted in the book "Jordan: The Man, His Words, His Life". Great read with a lot of first person accounts by MJ himself. Details the first three-peat through the baseball stint. MJ was given the aforementioned test during the baseball stint.

[Da_Realist]

Wow, that's pretty crazy. Jordan's basketball smarts were extremely underrated. As you said, he was always looking for an edge. First he led began the trend of weight training (this really only caught on among a majority of players after Jordan started doing so in 1990), and now we learn of this too. What's even more interesting is that he made this connection himself - realizing that if he trained with the strobes it would help him in-game. It wasn't like Grover suggested it. And now it's being used by top players. Go figure.

Exactly. Don't forget to mention his focus on developing his mid-range game way before he needed to rely on it. You had to watch how easily MJ drove to the hole back then to appreciate his decision to work on turn around and fadeaway jumpshots. His mind was always ahead of the game.

You wonder why he was the best closer in history. He was able to process more data so the game seemed to slow down for him. You don't have to just look at the free throw line, every shot MJ took was washed in flashing lights. Strobe light training made perfect sense. Revolutionary training 20+ years after MJ mastered it and swore everyone to secrecy. Unbelievable.