Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is nicknamed the Greek Freak in part because he stands 6-11 with a 7-3 wingspan and giant hands. In his best yearthe 2006-07 campaign, when he earned his first and only All-Star nodOkur averaged 18 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, shooting 38.4 percent from 3-point range on 4.2 attempts per game. Walton inducted himself into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. The Sixth Man award almost always goes to the NBAs highest-scoring bench player. Youre able to deflect the pass or block shots.. Walton is in the Hall of Fame, but he never had his arms measured end to end. Yeah, I found that out once I bought my first suit, the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each. Position C/PF. With one of the strongest lineups in NBA history, Boston steamrolled through the regular season, compiling a 67-15 record. (The arrangement was not unprecedented; Elgin Baylor squeezed in a game a week for the Lakers in 1962 while serving in the Army Reserve.) Though remembered by many for a career plagued by injuries and a personal life spiced by controversy, Bill Walton won high praise from players and coaches alike during his checkered career. It's no coincidence that Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who. Dude was a chiseled-from-granite gazelle with rocket boosters in his heels, a legit Defensive Player of the Year who could fit into any style or tempo. Center Bill Walton played 10 seasons for 3 teams. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. A lot of basketball players dont, though, they have wider wingspans. Before he got to the NBA, McGee wasnt even aware of his wingspan. And they're able to get their hands on balls or shots or loose balls. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is nicknamed the Greek Freak in part because he stands 6-11 with a 7-3 wingspan and giant hands. Raised in France, Gobert kept growing from ages 15-19. Its not how big you are, its how big you play. Its much more important than your height, Kerr said. A wingspan always helps people, whether its blocking shots or deflections on defense.. Inspired by rule changes that allowed for zone defenses, easier double-teams, and more effective swarms of players holding the ball in the post, the game has moved away from just dumping the ball down to your big man on the block and letting him cook. Its no coincidence that Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who stands 7-1 and led the NBA in blocks last season, has the longest wingspan in the league at 7 feet, 9 inches. Eight Questions Ahead of The Mandalorian Season 3, From Grogus Force prowess to Dins and Bo-Katans Darksaber designs to Gideons future, here are the key considerations ahead of Mandos long-awaited return, LeBrons Injury Ends the Lakers Surge Before It Could Even Begin, Just when it seemed like things were clicking into place for Los Angeles, LeBron James suffered a foot injury that will sideline him for the most important stretch of the Lakers season. Youre able to deflect the pass or block shots.. He was right then; he blocked four or more shots four times in his first six NBA games, led the league in blocks three times, and still tops the all-time leaderboard in swats nearly 20 years after his retirement. He was disruptive as hell, registering a block on more than 5 percent of his opponents 2-point tries and logging a steal on more than 2 percent of their offensive possessions; only six other players who have played at least 5,000 career minutes have done both. The other? If somebodys short, hopefully theyre quick. Id like to see him in the NBA, just to see how great hed be if he were pushed to the limit all the time.. In todays NBA, the best offenses weaponize the threat of the 3-point shot to spread the floor; the best defenses scheme ways for long, smart ber-athletes to erase that space; and the best players tilt that spatial battle in their teams favor. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP , is quick to point out that his length allows him to make up for other areas, including being far leaner than most NBA players. maybe one of the few cases of someone being around that 7ft mark and just saying 6ft 11. But when I think about the prospect of Shaq playing nowwith more long and skilled big men to line up against, and fewer fellow kaiju roaming the painted area to batter him every time he catches the ballI wonder whether a Shaq who came along in 2020 might have been better served staying down around the 290 pounds of his salad days for a little longer. Yeah, I found that out once I bought my first suit, the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each. In an article in the Boston Herald, McHale said of Walton: You watch an old, old guy like that, with the most hammered body in sports, acting like a high school kid its both funny and inspiring at the same time. You make up a lot of ground. Olajuwons fluidity, length, and quickness would flourish in an era when a big mans defensive value is predicated on being able to both protect the rim and guard in space. In recent seasons, Warriors high-scoring All-Star Kevin Durant has become more determined to use his 7-5 wingspan to make more of an impact on defense. I also think Steve Kerr wouldve done horrible, unspeakable things to get someone like Vlade operating in that Andrew Bogut/Anderson Varejao/David West playmaking pivot role as Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson run all those split actions, flinging passes all over the place: I dont know. But several NBA players pop off the chart because of their long arms. (Or, for that matter, pushed the sliders all the way up on his son Domantas Sabonis, an excellent modern player and All-Star in his own right. Neither knew their wingspans then, and they still dont. "Yeah, I found that out once I bought my first suit," the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each. The only thing Im supposed to know is how to put the ball through the hoop. In the book Basketball: A Love Story, Olajuwon describes the first time he saw an NBA game. We should have carried out a plan in the early 1980s to kidnap him and bring him back right then., Or, even better: popped him into a tricked-out DeLorean, sent him to 2020, and found out what it might look like if Kristaps Porzingis passed like White Chocolate, or if you pressed fast-forward on Nikola Jokic. This is not intended to be a definitive, inarguable list, or a scientifically rigorous exercise. Doing the talking for Walton was controversial sports educator and activist Jack Scott, whose presence only made an already strange situation more bizarre. Grammy Award-winning singer John Mayer talks about the influence Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton has had on him during guest appearance on 'Throw It Down . Thats kind of a rule of thumb. Other vital statistics like weight or shoe size measurements have been sourced from newspapers, books, resumes or social media. Wilt Chamberlain was a great offensive player, Dr. Jack Ramsay, Waltons coach in Portland, told Sport magazine. He wasnt just a lumbering giant, either: Chamberlain could sky to block shots and snare rebounds, and sprint the length of the court to fill the lane on the break. The Spurs are showcasing the importance of Black culture in their community for the month of February. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. I worried when he was thrown in jail with the group that took over the administration building, I worried when he stopped traffic on Wilshire Boulevard, and when he interrupted classes giving his views on the Vietnam War.. You look at size of hands, wingspans. Ive always been tall. That is not the case for young players. Rewards Domination Rewards. I'm not as fast laterally, I'm not as athletic, I'm not as quick as guys up and down but I think I make up for it with my length," said Durant, a defensive player of the year candidate. How would the fresh-out-of-the-box version look? When Bill Walton dominated at UCLA in the 1970s, no one ever measured his wingspan from fingertips to fingertips and arms outstretched. Its like someone died in the family.. At one time, they were long enough, and I can still put my own shoes and socks on, he quipped. In the midst of those broadcasting days, Walton was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Raised in France, Gobert kept growing from ages 15-19. Youre able to deflect the pass or block shots.. Extremely intelligent but besides that, he has tremendous basketball instinct.. Its not like adjusting for pace and contemporary minutes management would make Wilt just another dude, though. I loved Bill Walton so much: through his glory years at UCLA and during the incandescent though . Coaches marvel at players with long arms, figuring they will more easily grab rebounds, block shots, steal passes and shoot over defenders. He could pass and run the floor, dribble. Outside of a select few scorers who still get a bunch of low-block touches, like Joel Embiid or LaMarcus Aldridge, post-ups these days are more often a vehicle for creating catch-and-shoot 3s, or a way to attack mismatches when defenses switch themselves into a mouse in the house situation, than a main feature of an attack. At his peak he averaged 18.6/14.4/3.6 with 52% shooting and was the best player on a championship team. It's no coincidence that Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who stands 7-1 and led the NBA in blocks last season, has the longest wingspan in the league at 7 feet, 9 inches. I decided it might be cool to write about some of these players. Its legit. One of the benefits is his ability to corral and slam home lob passes that are high and might be off target. Once he hit the other side of 30, thoughand once he got with George Karl, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and the gang in SeattlePerkins started more aggressively stretching his game out to the perimeter, becoming one of the first full-fledged floor-spacing bigs in the game. Raised in France, Gobert kept growing from ages 15-19. The lower body injuries turned catastrophic late in the 1977-78 season, when Walton, already dealing with right foot pain, suffered a sprained left ankle that sidelined him for weeks. A wingspan always helps people, whether its blocking shots or deflections on defense.. He even broke a toe on a water sprinkler and hurt his leg in a jeep accident. At one time, they were long enough, and I can still put my own shoes and socks on, he quipped. Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP , is quick to point out that his length allows him to make up for other areas, including being far leaner than most NBA players. Things didnt improve in Portland, as ankle and foot injuries (along with two separate broken wrists) cost him 78 games over his first two seasons. Stay tuned for more updates on LatestinBollywood. He is socially active on social networking sites. "It's nothing that I heard about until I got to the league, or right before I got into the league, they're like, 'We'd like to measure your wingspan.' Walton first appeared on the national stage as a lanky college kid who exhibited a winning attitude on the court and an anti-establishment attitude off it. . The Trail Blazers finished the season 58-24 and Walton received the NBA MVP award. Give a young Wilt a steady diet of reps as a creator in the half court and more space to work with, and who knows what alternate pathways to dominance might open? Olajuwon had an excellent midrange game, with incredible touch on those turnarounds and fadeaways out of the block, and shot a crisp 50 percent between 16 feet and the arc during the 1998-99 season, his final healthy run before the wheels started to come off. The cellar-dwelling Blazers had finished with the second-worst record in the league in 1973-74, and Portland fans were thrilled at the arrival of a potential franchise player. Raised in France, Gobert kept growing from ages 15-19. Here was a man who once claimed to have bested a mountain lion in single combat. He went home elatednot because of all the skill, pageantry, and aerial artistry he just witnessed, but because even as an undergraduate just barely getting his feet wet in the game, he wasnt too impressed with the future competition. Oops. As Lakers teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Jerry West put it in his autobiography, West by West: Wilt was very self-conscious about his size and strength and he was reluctant to be viewed as a villain. Bill Walton. The wingspan sure helps a lot of people, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said . CelebHeights.com Rob Paul 2004-2023. Washington Bullets, with his ability to grab rebounds and find open outlets under the floor, or the non-selfish ways of Bill Walton when playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. In 1981 he underwent radical surgery to restructure his battle-scarred left foot. During his 13 years in the league, he played in only 44 percent of regular-season contests and left the game with a modest 13.3 scoring average. A fan of the Grateful Dead, the young Walton was a vegetarian, wore flannel shirts and multicolored headbands and toted his gym clothes in an onion bag. Theres a lot of guys, Draymond (Green) is the same way, small, undersized power forward but can guard plenty of guys because of his length. The Trail Blazers lost the series in six games and the services of Walton forever. Those are my five, but theres always room for more time travelers, so lets hit a few honorable mentions: Vlade Divac (1989-2005): Bigs who can pass, forever and ever, amen. Id never had a player say anything like that to me before. But he had never coached Bill Walton. Heights are barefeet estimates, derived from quotations, official websites, agency resumes, in person encounters with actors at conventions and pictures/films. Most of us have the same wingspan as our height. He didnt often hear the term wingspan, finally understanding how special his measurement is when he got to the NBA. After sitting out the entire 1978-79 season, Walton headed to San Diego and strife followed him there. Yeah, I found that out once I bought my first suit, the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each. The injuries, however, didnt stop. We've seen him block guys at the rim and also get his hands on some basketballs off the dribble.". You remember him: the irresistible force who tipped the scales after adding all that bulk to withstand the legions of Hack-a-Shaq implementers, the immovable object whom noted giant Yao Ming described in 2003 as like a meat wall, and the mountainous MVP who Juggernauted his way through the league to the tune of 27-and-12 on 57.5 percent shooting for a smooth eight years. But several NBA players pop off the chart because of their long arms. But when he was right man, was he right: At his peakthe 1976-77 season in which the Blazers won the title, and the 1977-78 campaign in which Portland was 50-10 when Walton broke his foot (he won MVP that year despite missing the final 22 games)Walton averaged 24.9 points, 18.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 blocks per 100 possessions. A half-century ago, Pink Floyd unleashed a classic that still lingers on the Billboard charts and in college dorms to this day. The average man has a wingspan about 2 inches more than his height. The wingspan sure helps a lot of people," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said . The NBA playoffs begin Saturday, and an extra inch of reach can lead to a blocked shot or steal that might alter a series or a season. Portland rose from fifth to second place in the Pacific Division and stunned the league by gliding past the talent-rich Denver Nuggets in six games, and sweeping the Abdul-Jabbar-led Los Angeles Lakers to reach the Finals. (As Jackie MacMullan wrote in When the Game Was Ours, Waltons one regret was that he never made Nixons enemies list.) Some things about Big Red, though, would translate perfectly to the modern game. )told Grantlands Jonathan Abrams back in 2011, [Sabonis] could do everything. But the damage was done: Hed only play 169 games between 1979 and 1985. Take a look back at the late 1970s Blazers and the impact Bill Walton had on them. 3x NCAA All-Region. Im a big believer in that., More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball, This March 25, 2018, photo shows Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert in action during an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, Calif. From executives and scouts to coaches and analytics types, teams are paying closer attention to wingspan when considering players _ especially with what long arms can mean making a defensive impact. How big you play, and they still dont wingspan sure helps a of... 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