Of the 6 major sports, does basketball require the least amount of skill?

[QUOTE=tpols]Golf is a pure skill 'sport' though.. it isn't like basketball, or football, or hockey, or baseball.. There is no running, no jumping, no battling for position. It's just.. how accurate you are with your swing. It's like me running in here and claiming billiards takes more skill than basketball. No shit.. because it is an activity that isn't dependant on your body type.. just how much you play it and develop your game.[/QUOTE]

Strength/Athleticism does play a part in golf. You take 2 players of equal skill and the decided factor will be distance, which is an accumulation of several things.

[QUOTE=28renyoy]Strength/Athleticism does play a part in golf. You take 2 players of equal skill and the decided factor will be distance, which is an accumulation of several things.[/QUOTE]
It plays a part.. that pales in comparison to all of the other sports you mentioned.

As a terrible ball handler, i'd say that basketball requires a lot of skill.

Football requires the most skill. It's the best sport by far too.

Golf requires the most skill.

[QUOTE=The Iron Fist]:roll: You really have no clue as to what you're talking about.[/QUOTE]


In relative terms, Baseball has the least physical requirements, besides golf of course. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have incredible speed. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have incredible strength. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have even marginal stamina.

Basketball requires the least amount of coordination of the 6, but they're all difficult to master. In basketball, if you have a respectable amount of athleticism and coordination, you can have a solid career. Football is harder because you need to be able to stop on a dime, be agile, be freakishly strong, and know how to avoid tackles. Going from least amount of skill to highest, this is how I would rank them:


Basketball- the only sport where you can get by sheer athleticism alone
Baseball- the hardest part is batting, but fielding doesn't require as much coordination unless you're an infielder
Football- you need to be athletic, fast, agile, strong, and able to take hits. Wideouts are by far the most skillful and coordinated
Golf- very difficult considering you have to play against the wind and you have to know which clubs to use
Soccer- easily the most physically draining of the 6. You have to be in fantastic shape, fast on your feet, extremely coordinated, and be able to take the physicality
Hockey- the only reason I rank this as harder than soccer because you have to do everything soccer players do while on skates. You have to be fast, agile, able to skate backwards, skate while controlling the puck, watch for hits, take hits, bat pucks out of thin air with a fairly thin blade, and block 100 MPH shots.

[QUOTE=bdreason]In relative terms, Baseball has the least physical requirements, besides golf of course. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have incredible speed. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have incredible strength. You don't [I]HAVE TO[/I] have even marginal stamina.[/QUOTE]
Wait.. weren't some of the best hitters of the past couple generations all on juice? Is that just some huge coincidence that the strongest guys all happened to be the best?

[QUOTE=tpols]Wait.. weren't some of the best hitters of the past couple generations all on juice? Is that just some huge coincidence that the strongest guys all happened to be the best?[/QUOTE]


Home run hitters aren't necessarily the best. McGwire was cracking 65-70 home runs, but he was known throughout his career for having a low average, striking out a lot, and being an average fielder at best.

[QUOTE=tpols]Wait.. weren't some of the best hitters of the past couple generations all on juice? Is that just some huge coincidence that the strongest guys all happened to be the best?[/QUOTE]

But they were also going against juiced up pitchers, so it evens out.

Anyway, Outside Linebackers are probably some of the best athletes on the planet. Fast, strong, agile, and ****ing huge.

[QUOTE=D.J.]Basketball requires the least amount of coordination of the 6, but they're all difficult to master. In basketball, if you have a respectable amount of athleticism and coordination, you can have a solid career. Football is harder because you need to be able to stop on a dime, be agile, be freakishly strong, and know how to avoid tackles. Going from least amount of skill to highest, this is how I would rank them:
[/QUOTE]
How does basketball have the least amount of coordination? You have to be able to dribble a ball while moving, shoot a ball, pass a ball etc. All of those things require major coordination.. both hand eye and in general. It's much easier for an athlete to pick up football than it is for them to learn how to perform all of basketball's skills from scratch. I mean seriously.. what do you need to learn for football? How to run? How to jump? How to catch a ball? The basics are very easy to pick up. Go watch a guy try to play basketball for the first time in his life.. he will look mentally handicapped.

And all of the things for football you listed are true for basketball players too. You need to be able to stop on a dime and be agile too. Have you ever heard of cutting? Where you literally run one way, stop on a dime, and run the other way to get open? Players actually do it MORE in basketball than they do in football since the only players that cut in football are WRs and EVERYONE in basketball has to cut and move without the ball. And being strong, fast etc. aren't skilled based things.. they are athleticism.

The problem is you are looking at the guys who only got by on their height alone. Look at a guy like Chris Paul. Dude is 6'0, a buck 80, and he is one of the best basketball players of this generation. How? He's got near perfect coordination. He's a dead eye shooter, a precision passer, a masterful dribbler, and he can sync all of these abilities together with flawless decision making. Pure skill. Basketball players can get by on athleticism alone but that doesn't diminish how hard it is for the ones who dont that master all of it's finer points.

[QUOTE=tpols]How does basketball have the least amount of coordination? You have to be able to dribble a ball while moving, shoot a ball, pass a ball etc. All of those things require major coordination.. both hand eye and in general. It's much easier for an athlete to pick up football than it is for them to learn how to perform all of basketball's skills from scratch. I mean seriously.. what do you need to learn for football? How to run? How to jump? How to catch a ball? The basics are very easy to pick up. Go watch a guy try to play basketball for the first time in his life.. he will look mentally handicapped.

And all of the things for football you listed are true for basketball players too. You need to be able to stop on a dime and be agile too. Have you ever heard of cutting? Where you literally run one way, stop on a dime, and run the other way to get open? Players actually do it MORE in basketball than they do in football since the only players that cut in football are WRs and EVERYONE in basketball has to cut and move without the ball. And being strong, fast etc. aren't skilled based things.. they are athleticism.

The problem is you are looking at the guys who only got by on their height alone. Look at a guy like Chris Paul. Dude is 6'0, a buck 80, and he is one of the best basketball players of this generation. How? He's got near perfect coordination. He's a dead eye shooter, a precision passer, a masterful dribbler, and he can sync all of these abilities together with flawless decision making. Pure skill. Basketball players can get by on athleticism alone but that doesn't diminish how hard it is for the ones who dont that master all of it's finer points.[/QUOTE]


Because basketball is the only sport where you can get by on athleticism alone. Not every player is that skilled and coordinated. Freakish athleticism can get by. Look at Ben Wallace, Shaq, Rodman, Jamario Moon, Charles Oakley. Not every freakishly athletic or strong player will be an all-time great, but you can get by. No other sport has that luxury.

Oh and another thing I just remembered.. You know how when you see a below average NBA player like, Joel Anthony, for example playing in an NBA game and you think damn how is it that this guy sucks so bad? He cant shoot, dribble, pass etc. you have to remember he's going up against the best basketball competition in the world. I guarantee you even the worst, most awkward looking NBA players would run circles around any of us in shooting, dribbling, and passing drills. You put Joel on the post against anyone here and he looks like Hakeem Olajuwan.. these guys do have more skill thanthey show.

[QUOTE=tpols]Oh and another thing I just remembered.. You know how when you see a below average NBA player like, Joel Anthony, for example playing in an NBA game and you think damn how is it that this guy sucks so bad? He cant shoot, dribble, pass etc. you have to remember he's going up against the best basketball competition in the world. I guarantee you even the worst, most awkward looking NBA players would run circles around any of us in shooting, dribbling, and passing drills. You put Joel on the post against anyone here and he looks like Hakeem Olajuwan.. these guys do have more skill thanthey show.[/QUOTE]


Compared to us, of course. But we're not professional athletes. Point is you don't need to be terribly skilled in basketball. It's also the easiest to pick up.

[QUOTE=D.J.]Because basketball is the only sport where you can get by on athleticism alone. Not every player is that skilled and coordinated. Freakish athleticism can get by. Look at Ben Wallace, Shaq, Rodman, Jamario Moon, Charles Oakley. Not every freakishly athletic or strong player will be an all-time great, but you can get by. No other sport has that luxury.[/QUOTE]
No.. First off, RBs, WRs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, TEs, CBs.. pretty much every position other than QB can get by on pure athleticism alone. The most skillful thing any of these guys do is catch a ball.. which is laughable compared to the skills needed for basketball.

I can point to Randy Moss, or Bo Jackson, or Ray Lewis.. the list goes on and on. There are SO many football players that got by on their incredible combinations of speed and strength that its not even funny.

And Shaq didnt get by on athleticism alone.. he was one of the most skilled centers of all time at his size. Great foot work, assemblage of post moves, touch on his shots etc.