I am going to go ahead and say these times aren't legit. Those guys, at the their size, aren't all running that fast. The slowest going 5:45? Naw, I'd have to see uncut footage of them running to believe that.
You would be surprised. Our high school had a 6'7" 230 lb forward that was able to run under 5:20 for the 1600m. I watched him do it, so it wasn't a case of them making up a BS time. He was just in good shape.
~5:20 average for elite/sub-elite athletes in a primarily explosive sport that does require some endurance sounds about right, shouldn't really be a surprise in either direction. While some aerobic capacity is necessary to play high-level basketball, it isn't really a determining factor beyond the baseline threshold, so I would expect NBA players to run very similar times on average. I'd guess there are maybe a dozen or so pros who could break five in this setup, obviously many more could do this if they trained specifically.
~5:20 average for elite/sub-elite athletes in a primarily explosive sport that does require some endurance sounds about right, shouldn't really be a surprise in either direction. While some aerobic capacity is necessary to play high-level basketball, it isn't really a determining factor beyond the baseline threshold, so I would expect NBA players to run very similar times on average. I'd guess there are maybe a dozen or so pros who could break five in this setup, obviously many more could do this if they trained specifically.
I remember some NBA guy claimed he ran a sub 60 400m in a workout and people here lost their minds.
In high school, every year a few guys would come to track from football and run a sub 50 400m after like 2 weeks of training. These were buff guys who almost never ran more than 50yd at a time.
I'd bet a few NBA players could do 49 in an open 400m, tomorrow, off of no specific training. I'd bet a few NBA players might even dip under 4:50 in a mile, given good pacing and an honest effort.
Why is it a surprise that these guys can average 5:20 fresh. Many decathletes run the 1500 in the 4'40" range at the end of a competition. These players are more aerobically trained than decathletes.
Why is it a surprise that these guys can average 5:20 fresh. Many decathletes run the 1500 in the 4'40" range at the end of a competition. These players are more aerobically trained than decathletes.
This is a joke, right? Surely you don’t actually believe this.
Why is it a surprise that these guys can average 5:20 fresh. Many decathletes run the 1500 in the 4'40" range at the end of a competition. These players are more aerobically trained than decathletes.
This is a joke, right? Surely you don’t actually believe this.
Why would this be untrue? Basketball players run up and down a court for minutes at a time. Decathletes baaaarely practice the 1500m. They're all in on anaerobic abilities.
What decathletes do have going for them is a lot slimmer build than basketball players, usually.
Why is it a surprise that these guys can average 5:20 fresh. Many decathletes run the 1500 in the 4'40" range at the end of a competition. These players are more aerobically trained than decathletes.
This is a joke, right? Surely you don’t actually believe this.
Yes, I believe that decathletes who train for 8 anaerobically alactic events run the 1500 in the 4:40 range. And yes I believe that badketball players have more developed aerobic systems than decathletes.
The 1976 NCAA 800m champion, Tom McLean, started off as a basketball player at Bucknell for Jim Valvano. He played hoops his freshman and sophomore years (co-captain as a sophomore).
The story as I heard it was that the track coach, Art Gulden, asked him to come out for track in the spring and to do the high jump or long jump. McLean said that he was actually a half-miler, so Gulden played along and said, "fine come out to practice and you can run with our half milers."
McLean showed up at practice and while I don't know the specifics of the workout, Gulden got McLean to run track and later convinced McLean to quit basketball and run track only. He wound up running 1:45 and he won NCAAs in '76. McLean later went on to be the Executive Director of USA Track & Field for 11 years.
~5:20 average for elite/sub-elite athletes in a primarily explosive sport that does require some endurance sounds about right, shouldn't really be a surprise in either direction. While some aerobic capacity is necessary to play high-level basketball, it isn't really a determining factor beyond the baseline threshold, so I would expect NBA players to run very similar times on average. I'd guess there are maybe a dozen or so pros who could break five in this setup, obviously many more could do this if they trained specifically.
I remember some NBA guy claimed he ran a sub 60 400m in a workout and people here lost their minds.
In high school, every year a few guys would come to track from football and run a sub 50 400m after like 2 weeks of training. These were buff guys who almost never ran more than 50yd at a time.
I'd bet a few NBA players could do 49 in an open 400m, tomorrow, off of no specific training. I'd bet a few NBA players might even dip under 4:50 in a mile, given good pacing and an honest effort.
Yeah I would ballpark the average NBA 400 time to be in the 52-53 range, with the fastest guys dipping under 50
Why does it look like there’s a lot of 7:30 pace going on in that video?
maybe because they are 6'7??? so might not look as quick but cover a lot of distance with each stride??
I was at the college club triathlon championships in Miami a couple of weekends ago. The finish included a stretch on the NASCAR race track. Even the fastest runners look slow in that context.
It was some time ago, but I recall seeing something where a bunch of pro basketball players ran an 800 against some retired sprinters (or something like that). I remember thinking that the basketball players were going to all fall apart after 400 m and barely be able to finish because these guys were jacked and 6'8"+. I was pleasantly surprised at not just how fast these guys were but how good they looked on the track.
Also, Kelvin Sampson built his program on challenging his athletes to do more. He gets transfers because players seek him out to challenge them to become a better player. Team practices are relentless with players being expected to go hard on everything, diving for balls, fighting for loose balls, etc. Players who struggle with free throws have to make 150 every day. And so on.