Why people think players are more athletic today

[Cladyclad]

Cousins is mobile and has good body control but hes not what you would classify a good athlete. Jermaine O'neal right now has more spring and quickness than him most of Cousins game is based on skill/size his athletic ability is average at best.

Hes not in the same catagory as any of those other guys or anywhere near.

Cousins quickness at his size is special. Body control fits da athletic category. Its only a handful of players who got the combination tools as him.

[JerryWest]

Because they are

[Inactive]

Usually you see two sides to this debate:

Idiots-"Players are way more athletic nutrition training evolution blah blah blah"
Everyone else- "That's just turrible"

But just by watching you can tell that there are more hyper athletic players in the league right now than in earlier eras. People have struggled to explain this phenomenon but I think I've come up with an pretty decent explanation

lets compare the population in the US in 1980 (227 million) and today (~315 million) for a difference of around 88 million which is almost a 40% increase in population.

If we assume that the same % of population is inclined to play basketball in both time periods (and I think it would be fair to say that the sport is more popular now than it was then but I have no way of quantifying that), then there are 40% more people total playing the sport. Even if the number of freak athlete's per 10000 people remained the same, that still accounts for 40% more freak athlete's competing for spots in the NBA today than there were in the 1980's.


40% More people= 40% more MJs, Lebrons, and russel westbrooks

I think it's worth distinguishing between these statements:

"NBA players are more athletic today."

"There are more athletic players in the NBA today."

Obviously, if there are more athletic players in the NBA, then the average NBA player will be more athletic, but I think what most of care about is whether or not the elite athletes are any more athletic. IMO they aren't.

[brain drain]

I think it's worth distinguishing between these statements:

"NBA players are more athletic today."

"There are more athletic players in the NBA today."

Obviously, if there are more athletic players in the NBA, then the average NBA player will be more athletic, but I think what most of care about is whether or not the elite athletes are any more athletic. IMO they aren't.

I think there are four aspects at play
#1 distribution of natural athletic ability in the population (genetics) - should probably be pretty constant, but the absolute top freaks are very rare
#2 Size of the talent pool - steadily increasing, because world population increases constantly (7 billion now vs 3 billion in 1960) and because NBA gets players from more different countries than int used to
#3 Training methods, nutrition etc - have become better
#4 Dirty tricks (doping) - don't know

So, since #1 is constant and #2 and #3 have gotten better it's only logical that general athletic ability is up.
However, since the very best athletes are very rare, there are probably too few data points to measure or compare athletic talent at the Wilt / Jordan / Shaq / Vince Carter / Lebron level, especially since the type of athleticism is different between these players.

But if you look at things like track and field, where comparisons can be made much more easily, it's pretty clear that the performances have gotten better over time. There are a few records that held for a pretty long time (like Bob Beamon's long jump record, or Sotomayor's high jump record, which is now 20 years old, but the general tendency is that there's improvement over time.

Now here comes the reality check: if you compare the results of the Olympic Games 1984 with 2012 and look at what place winning performance in 1984 would've gotten in 2012, the result is this:

100m: 8th place
200m: 3rd
400m: 2nd
800m: 6th
4*100m: 3rd
4*400m: 3rd
High Jump: 2nd
Long Jump: 1st


So overall, the 1984 winners would be somewhat behind in many cases, but still be competitive - and in one case even win the gold medal.

Now here's another check: where would the 4th place from 1984 have landed in 2012. The result:
100m : - (not in top 8)
200m: 7th
400m: 4th
800m: -
4*100: -
4*400: 4th
High Jump: 3rd
Long Jump: 2nd (tie)

[Dragonyeuw]

no.

but they fail to realize that it takes major athleticism to be fundamentally sound.

Like Tim Duncan?

[Money 23]

I think on average the athleticism might be slightly greater, but it's definitely a myth.

[Dragonyeuw]

I think on average the athleticism might be slightly greater, but it's definitely a myth.

Yes, there's probably 'more' athletic guys today in terms of numbers, but guys like Jordan, Drexler, Kemp,Nique, Larry Nance would still be considered athletic standouts today. Hell, Spud Webb at 5'7 with a 46" vertical? Even 'no names' like Robert Pack and Harold Miner aka Baby Jordan? Isiah Rider? Penny and Grant Hill were and would be considered great athletes today as well before injuries impacted them. Orlando Shaq was an incredible athlete especially at his size, Kevin Johnson with that first step, Hakeem was an amazing athlete with that coordination and fluidity of movement, lots of names I'm forgetting but there were plenty of great athletes back in the day.

[Money 23]

Yes, there's probably 'more' athletic guys today in terms of numbers, but guys like Jordan, Drexler, Kemp,Nique, Larry Nance would still be considered athletic standouts today. Hell, Spud Webb at 5'7 with a 46" vertical? Even 'no names' like Robert Pack and Harold Miner aka Baby Jordan? Isiah Rider? Penny and Grant Hill were and would be considered great athletes today as well before injuries impacted them. Orlando Shaq was an incredible athlete especially at his size, Kevin Johnson with that first step, Hakeem was an amazing athlete with that coordination and fluidity of movement, lots of names I'm forgetting but there were plenty of great athletes back in the day.

Oh absolutely. I don't believe the athleticism even compared to the late 70s / early 80s is somehow super advanced. It's a myth people latch onto. Elite athletes are the same across eras. In fact, I think players today have gained too much mass for bball. I see players getting winded way too easily compared to past eras. I also don't think that a slight increase in more versatile athleticism (players are drafted since the late 90s on potential not experience) makes the game today better.

Because to coincide with small, incremental advantages on averages in athleticism league wide. Bball intelligence and skill is at a much greater disadvantage than there is in the gap in athleticism across eras. Take that to the bank.

[jstern]

I don't think they are noticeably more athletic, rather than people are very superficial and dumb. They might see an 80s athlete jumping from the free throw line, but their minds get clouded by the fact that they're wearing short shorts and that the image quality just looks much more superior with today's HD. Then there's the tendency to be amazed by the moment, and somewhat thinking that life begin the moment they were born. For some it's hard to imagine that things like even a layup, fadeaway existed before they were born.

I remember watching NBA black and white footage from 1968, and it just looked so primitive to me, then I saw some 1968 footage in color, and wow, the players just seemed so much better.

Many times I've heard teenagers say that Kobe was more athletic than Jordan, their perception is clouded.

[joshwake]

It has more to do with style than anything. Players today just mimic what they saw from the greats. Some style comes across more athletic than others. Blame MJ.

[3243]

I think there's more emphasis on hitting the weight room these days from an earlier age and getting on supplements (and yes, possibly PEDs).

But generally speaking I think athleticism in the NBA has sorta capped off since the mid-late 1990s.

Clyde Drexler, Shawn Kemp, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson, Shaquille O' Neal, Dennis Rodman, Penny Hardaway (pre-injury), etc. are more athletic than anyone at their position nowadays with maybe the exception of LeBron.

The players whom you mentioned as examples were not only highly athletic, but they were also more fundamentally sound than today's NBA players. Most of these guys played four years of college ball, and even Shaq and Penny got two years of college coaching. Only Kemp was "one-and-done" like so many of today's NBA players, who are athletic freaks but lack technique and knowledge of how to play basketball.

[kNicKz]

I think advances in Kinesiology are being seriously underplayed here. Ever wonder why the NFL has a record broken every other week? I think the medical treatment available makes the biggest difference. Guys can play for a lot longer now, giving us bigger samples of their playing, which is why a lot of people's top 25 are 80 percent players from 1985-up

[Mach_3]

Including everything else people have been saying in here players today have more chances to showcase their athleticism due to rule changes and such

[jongib369]

Because as time goes on PED's are getting better and used more and more accessible to all.

?

[Cali Syndicate]

say that again with a straight face..

you think you can just pull off exceptional footwork without body control?

where do you think body control comes from? your mind?

Coordination.