NBA / May 1, 2008 / 2:00 pm
The Best Athlete in the Draft?
The hype around UCLA’s Russell Westbrook will undoubtedly grow as this summer’s NBA Draft draws closer. Right now, everyone’s focused on guys like Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, and with good reason. But once individual workouts get going with teams, Westbrook will almost certainly gain a lot of momentum. The always-reliable DraftExpress has a breakdown of the 6-3 Westbrook that says he has “just about as much upside to continue to improve as any guard in the draft not named Derrick Rose.” One of the reasons DraftExpress (who has him at No. 12 in their latest mock draft) see so much upside is because he’s a freak athlete.
Check out this compilation of Westbrook threes and cramming on guys. Kid could be a beast at the next level…
May 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
JA says:
I like Westbrook - if he keeps working on the mid-range pull-ups off the dribble, he could definitely have an impact at the next level.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Chuck says:
I guess it’s all in preference.
It’s really the brain over brawn question?
Steve Nash (two time MVP)
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
John Stockton
These are all prime time players who weren’t freak athletes. The perfected their specialty, rather it be ball handling at 6-9 or shooting your lights out and 2 out of the 4 players I named have 1 chip or more.
Dominique wilkins
Charles Barkley
These guys were freak athletes, but they never won rings. Think of someone like Vince Carter who jumps over 7 footers to dunk, but he still lacks heart and team concept. Forget how athletic a player is. I want to know your character, and how bad you want to win. Tim Duncan is far from freak athlete, but he’ll still beast you for 30 on any given night, besides his struggling at the stripe, dude works hard at every facet of the game.
So I could care less about a freak athlete. i want to know where your head is, and how bad do you want to win. I want to know the intangibles. I guess what some would call the Jordan Factor. How hard are you willing to work to dominate the league!
May 1st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Mike says:
Stro Swift was/is consider a freak athlete…
Maybe the whole freak athlete thing is a bit overrated. You have to have basketball IQ and desire to go with the athletism.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Easy W says:
Charles Barkley
How the hell was he a freak athlete? Dude was super undersized and just played hard.
Freak athletes that won chips:
Jordan
Shaq
Wilt
Basicly every great big man and SG/SF
Yeah having a head for the game is the most important aspect, but having a body and talents towards the game help a lot.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Remy Nguyen says:
I am led to believe, we didn’t learn anything from TEAM USA (GREECE).
On a side note, Shaquilla is not a freak. Shaquilla had help - Penny, Kobe, and Flash. Shaquilla is lucky, he always had the mythical “Next Jordan.”
Jordan himself said, “Penny was the next inline.”
Then Kobe took over and Flash came this close to taking Kobe throne.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Chuck says:
@Easy W
When you are 6 foot 6 battking cats that’s 6-10 to 7-0 and you dunking on em like crazy. Dude that’s a freak athlete.
Charles Barkely
Dude was strong as an ox, and could beat people at his position off the dribble all day. for his size, what he did was amazing.
May 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Kobeef says:
@EasyW
I gotta call you on that - Shaq is the definition of Freak. In the past fifty years there have probably been less than 100 people in the world with his combination of size, strength and athleticism.
If I was a GM, I’d roll the dice on freak athletes for all but my PG. My all freak team:
PG: CP3
SG: Rudy Gay
SF: JSmoove
PF: STAT
C: Dwight
They might not be the most “polished” team but nobody would want to face that nightmare.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Billy Sunday says:
@kobeef
there probably been less than 5 maybe even less no one had shaqs strength height and athletic ability all combined i mean dwight is close but not strength wise
but that is a nasty line up tho….
May 1st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Jonny Drama says:
Westbrook might look tough in that clip, but this might be the hottest 1 min clip out of UCLA in a long time…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hLch7JBvXEQ
May 1st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Willis says:
Darrell Armstrong pt 2 if you ask me. But I wouldn’t mind him on the Kings.
May 1st, 2008 at 9:34 pm
weezyf says:
check it out..this is such a good story about chris lofton
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3376961
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 am
Suciniac says:
Gerald Green anyone???
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
JC says:
I’m a fan of IQ over athleticism. Granted, some of the best players around (MJ & Kobe come to mind) were outrageous athletes, but it was their BRAIN for the game that made them dangerous & great.
I also think those players grew up with that mindset — it didnt happen as they played in the league (well who knows w/ MJ; we didnt have absurd coverage of what he was like in HS like we did with KB24) it seemed to be an approach to the cerebral part of the game that they were committed to mastering along with their god-given talent and skill set.
But with that said, how many people become these special players?? Every person drafted doesnt have to be the next 12 time all-star. Westbrook’ll have to improve his shot selection IMO to make it in the league — he seemed to chuck when i saw games. If someone drafts him thinking frnachise player they’re likely incorrect and sure to have lofty ideas on this kid’s game — but if they’re thinking solid player/contributor & potential long-term starter, then they will probably be spot on and will be pleased if he shows more…
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
JB says:
I like Westbrook and never thought he would be this good after watching him his freshman year. He really is a very good athlete but his biggest strength is his work ethic and defense. His jumper needs some work but if he goes to the right team with a fast paced offense I think he can really shine.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
NayGuy says:
What some of you guys don’t understand is that not only is he a “freak athlete” but he isn’t a headcase, or cocky, or lazy.
He wasn’t highly recruited out of high school and has worked his A$$ off to get to this point.
Unlike the other “freak athletes” in this draft, he actually plays DEFESNE. Which separates him from the OJ Mayo’s of the world.
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
NayGuy says:
and the person who said “Darrell Armstrong # 2″.
You have no f*ckin clue whatsoever.
Did you even watch him play in college? Jeez
“Gerald Green?” - NOPE
That guy had no jumper whatsoever and came straight out of high school. Westbrook went to two straight final fours in each of his seasons at UCLA.
You guys fail to realize he plays DEFENSE.
He was voted Defensive player of the year in the Pac-10 when it was noted as being the toughest conference in the nation by tons of analysts.
You guys needs to actually watch games and not sportscenter highlights.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Franchise Baller says:
@ Chuck
Since when do any NBA players care??