So, Are They The Greatest Athletes?

fitone, Yao ming is the future of crappy commercials with midgets. Also his hair is to bad to be a star.
:slight_smile: groove

Yao is no where near as good as shaq, at this point in time. Will be by? NO ONE can say for sure.

That should have said Will he be? rather than Will be by?..

I think Shaq is the best big man of all time. Hes unstoppable when he wants to be. However Yao is a different kind of player. Yes they both play the same position but Yao has way more range than Shaq. And have any of you ever seen Yao’s legs? They are fairly large. I heard one NBA scout say that once his upper body catches up to his lower body, hes going to be unstoppable.

I heard that shaq does rim jumps on the top of the back board. Thats impressive.
will42

I think maybe we should further define the question to see if we can come to a better agreement. Like the ancient Greeks, who valued balance in a person, we should say “Who are the most balanced athletes?”. Or, “Which athletes are in the best over-all condition?”.
Strongman competitors might win for overall strength, but they lack endurance. Ironman triathletes have the endurance, but these are high Type-1 muscle fiber guys. The top NBA players certainly have a good mix of quickness, agility and still have the endurance to run up and down the court. Olympic gymnasts would similarly get a vote for agility, strength and maybe speed.
I remember the first “Superstars” competition that ABC held with various pros. It was won by Kyle Rote Jr.; a little-know pro soccer player.
I guess to settle it you would need to first define a test. Then see how well that athlete would score in the test. For example, who would do better at a decathlon: a Kobe-level NBA player, an MMA champion, that Chinese gymnast guy, an NHL MVP, or Mike Alstott?
Then again, that may only be a test of individuals and how well they cross-train. Maybe we should take the Pittsburgh Penguins and the L.A. Lakers and let them face off in water polo… then we could get a larger sample size tested for all-around fitness at once!

Fitone’s finally lost it…

Fitone - I said Yao is GREAT. He is probably the future, and I’m not defending the slightly overweight, late surgery getting, Shaq. If Shaq isn’t 100%, it’s his own fault. I’m just saying you’re going overboard by saying that Yao is “far” more agile and quick than Shaq. I haven’t seen anything to make me think he’s quicker than Shaq at all. Yao moves exceptionally well, FOR A BIG MAN! An exceptionally agile and quick Rocket - that’s Steve Francis. So just admit you were wrong about the “far” statement and we’ll drop it!

Now since I’m on the thread I’ll get back to the original question. Greatest athletes - defensive/running backs in the NFL. On the D1 collegiate level I’ve tested these guys and they commonly have verts in the upper 30’s, sub 4.5 40’s, and great strength. The stats on the guys in the NFL would only be better. In football shape, they would probably not last in some sports with high endurance demands. But, my thought is, if you were to pick one type of athlete who could excel in many (not all) sports, these guys would be it.

DocT why do you say that I finially lost it!!! sorry, I don’t get it… And I don’t know why you have a beef with me. I don’t have one w/ you!

Fitone, you’re ready to anoint a 22 year old as the future of the NBA and dismiss one of the game’s greatest big men ever. That’s why I think you’ve lost it.

And I have no beef with you. I find you amusing.

Yes I do think Shaq is one of the greatest center in basketball in history, But I am not the only who thinks Yao Ming is the future of basketball look at what all the sports writer are writting about Yao.

Some sports critics are even perdicting that he will surpass MJ (which I believe is the GREATEST basketball player of all times!) in endorsment contracts.

Again whats wrong with the statement Yao is the future of basketball and Shaq will soon be a thing of the past?

Please show me one writer who’s saying something like that.

When this post first came up, I was going to suggest gymnasts, for the reasons listed above. But I think we must exclude the balance beam, as 4 inches to those little girls is like a sidewalk to us.

There are no writers that have any type of reputable job that would state Yoa could be better than MJ, basketball isnt my forte, but I read, watch all the sports shows out there, and I have never heard it said. He is good, for a center, is he even the greatest athlete in the NBA? Nope.

Why are the sports that are held in highest regard in the USA Non-event sports in the rest of the world? Who else plays baseball and american football? (To a lesser extent) Ice hocky and basketball? If New zealnd can come in the top 3 in the world at basket ball (above the USA team) it can not be a sport with the best athletes in the world. What a joke. sure it wasnt the best american team, but more people play basket ball in the states than there are people in new zealand! What the hell, a high school team should be able to beat our national team! Best athletes my ass. Even in a sport closey comparable i would say soccer impresses me more. That says alot.

Whetu - That’s a good question, although I think you contradict yourself somewhat. The fact that NZ came in third at the bball world championships underscores the fact that bball is a big sport in many parts of the world. There was some talk this year of having a USA vs International players format for the NBA all-star game. It didn’t happen, but the fact that they might consider it and the quality of the international players shows that it is indeed a big sport around the globe. In regard to the other sports you mentioned, hockey and baseball certainly have big followings in Europe and Asia, respectively. I think you could ask the same question about popular sports in many countries. For example: cricket in England and India, curling in Canada…just kidding, Rugby in NZ and S. Africa, Australian rules football for the Aussies (i love watching that game), ping pong in China, beer pong in the USA. See my point?

I know this sounds bad but the guys who play in the rucker are amazing athletes, same goes for the guys on the mix tapes.
will42

What I don’t believe is what makes it so hard for people to believe that Yao Ming could suprass Micheal Jordan in endorsment contracts… If he plays as well as he does in the next couple of years I don’t think why he can’t.

You guys got remember as business he has over 2.5 billion fans in China alone. Not including the thousands may be millions of fans he has in the USA.

Who doesn’t want him to endorse there products. Heck his poularity rose just the first year he played.

Not only that stole the All-Star position away from Shaq.

fitone - there’s no doubt that Yao has tremendous marketing potential. The NBA execs are probably ecstatic about his ability to attract international viewers.

But, are you ever going to address your “far more agile and quicker than Shaq” statement? Or are you just going to pretend like you didn’t make it? Then again, that may be your best strategy.

You know, it’s a very subjective to argue over who is a better player now, much more so for the future. And now you want to debate his potential to out-endorse MJ? Good luck.

One more thing, slow down your typing - your last post was close to being nonsensical

Jared said, "But I think we must exclude the balance beam, as 4 inches to those little girls is like a sidewalk to us.

Okay, Jared, how many athletes do you know that can do a standing back flip on a sidewalk? :slight_smile: