Can Lebron James really run a 44 second 400?

I would be astounded if he ran 54 or faster. I don't doubt he could run faster with training, but in regular basketball form, no way does get anywhere close to 50.0. I would definitely pay money to see various sports athletes race a 400m though. Someone should organize such a thing and donate the proceeds to charity.

Guppy wrote:

I would be astounded if he ran 54 or faster. I don't doubt he could run faster with training, but in regular basketball form, no way does get anywhere close to 50.0. I would definitely pay money to see various sports athletes race a 400m though. Someone should organize such a thing and donate the proceeds to charity.

Yes, you are right. He might well have a hard time breaking 60 seconds in mid-season basketball form.

Evidence? Let's look at the Superstars competition. They pitted world-class athletes (football, soccer, baseball...) in mult-dimensional competitions. Some of the competitions were running events.

Source:

For the half mile run (most folks listed are NBA hall of famers):

Elvin Hayes (28 years old - very athletic, similar build to Lebron but lighter): 2:30

John Havlecek (34 years old - known for his hustle and fitness): 2:21

Dave DeBusshcere (36 years old - voted top 50 players of all time - pitched in major leagues for two seasons): 2:25

Dave Cowens (33 years old): 2:26

Dan Majerle (36 years old): slower than 2:20

Generally, excellent NBA basketball players would have a hard time making a HS girls varsity team.

James would have some advantages (younger than most of these, "freakishly" athletic, 400m v 800m) but also a key disadvantage (that's a lot of weight to be carrying around for anything but a short (40m) sprint). But if anyone thinks that in mid-season basketball form he would break the starting lineup on a typical HS boys team they are really fooling themselves.

Lighten up Francis wrote:

This is probably the greatest athlete on the planet we're talking about

Probably the most ridiculous thing I´ve heard in a long time.

I bet with 4 months training Lebron could run under a 5:15 mile!

Evidence of training regimen.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xdUHxLHBEz0/0.jpg

That is not possible. That would mean that he went faster than world record 400m pace for 25m more, with twenty turns rather than 2. Impossible.

Star wrote:

Why was this thread hacked by Letsrun and at what point was the link removed from the original post?

It was a picture of a chubby girl trying to eat a cookie off of her shoulder.

I thought it was funny that people were seriously responding to the topic considering the goof pic.

But I guess LRC thought that the topic was worthwhile and removed the pic.

The pic made the thread for me.

I still wonder why the the OP was changed.

Star wrote:

Star wrote:

Why was this thread hacked by Letsrun and at what point was the link removed from the original post?

It was a picture of a chubby girl trying to eat a cookie off of her shoulder.

I thought it was funny that people were seriously responding to the topic considering the goof pic.

But I guess LRC thought that the topic was worthwhile and removed the pic.

The pic made the thread for me.

I still wonder why the the OP was changed.

You and me both, that pic made my thread possible!

Good question, why was the link removed? If it's a worthwhile and fun discussion, then leave everything up. Including the link in the OP. It reflects the OPs true thoughts on the matter - that Lebron has as much chance at running a 44 second 400 as....

Long live the OP!

http://i2.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/652/shouldercookie.jpg

10/10

Halfway decent HS girls do not weigh 270 lbs.

Halfway decent high school girls aren't carrying 270 pounds over 6'8". Consider him dropping down to 240, eliminating excess weight. His build is now very similar proportionally to elite 400 runners. He is incredibly explosive with good aerobic fitness. Sub 45 might be a stretch, but sub 50 is a certainty.

Using common sense instead of pretending to be an expert, which probably none of you can actually claim, I would argue that (/agree with those who said) LeBron would probably run 52 or 52 mid off peak fitness with no running specific training. With running training and given the limitations of his build, I could see him maybe running 48 high/49 low.

My high school's best 400m runner way back in the day when I was a freshman ran 49pt consistently and was a defensive end on the football team. Big guy (not quite as big as LeBron, but at least 220-230 and tall) and truly awful form, but he was fast and explosive. I believe he could also high jump 6'2" or 6'3" with some pretty untrained/bad form.

I have to believe LeBron would slaughter that kid given similar high school level 400m training for a season or two.

Take my opinion for what it's worth, but I thought this was well worded and thought out. But first, where is everyone getting 'bron's weight from? I googled his weight and got this response from google:

which listed him as 249. I have heard his weight fluctates a lot though throughout the season, so I definitely can believe he's weighed 280 before, but is that his normal weight? I think basketball isn't being given enough credit as a cardio workout as it should. Like even outside of the game, what do you think these guys do for practice? Do think they've never ran all out for 1 min? If Lebron did a 400, it's not like that would be his first time running all out for that long. I was an 8/15 guy in HS and college, but in HS I would be on our 4x4 team and split ~49 a few times. I have to think Lebron is at least in as good of 400 shape as I was when I was 17/18, which would bring him to ~50 open quater. Add to that, this guy is a professional athlete who knows how to train like a wordclass athlete and I think with 6/8 months he could get down to at least 48/47

-BAB's

No chance for any of this 50 second or 53 second nonsense. Right now he would struggle to break 60. With specific training for 6 months to a year he might be approaching 50.

Lebron couldn't run a 44, but he could easily run sub 60. Some of you guys are insane. Sub 60 400 isn't that hard. There are high school twigs that could come out and run sub 60 and you think one of the most physically gifted athletes in the world couldn't? He is 6'8, 250lbs-ish of mostly muscle, trained to be explosive and strong. If you are a distance guy and you think you could crank out ~52s in the 400, you'd either be lying or stupid if you say Lebron wouldn't be crushing you at the end of it. With a month of training I put him at 48-49. I'd bet my house he could run sub 55.

Glenn Rupp wrote:

Lebron couldn't run a 44, but he could easily run sub 60. Some of you guys are insane. Sub 60 400 isn't that hard. There are high school twigs that could come out and run sub 60 and you think one of the most physically gifted athletes in the world couldn't? He is 6'8, 250lbs-ish of mostly muscle, trained to be explosive and strong. If you are a distance guy and you think you could crank out ~52s in the 400, you'd either be lying or stupid if you say Lebron wouldn't be crushing you at the end of it. With a month of training I put him at 48-49. I'd bet my house he could run sub 55.

And you would lose your house.

LOL. People think he could even go under 60? I think 70 is a more fair over/under 50/50 to look at. Dude has no endurance, no familiarity, and is way too fat.

Lebron has no endurance wrote:

LOL. People think he could even go under 60? I think 70 is a more fair over/under 50/50 to look at. Dude has no endurance, no familiarity, and is way too fat.

So, it seems that this thread is divided by people who have actually PLAYED basketball at some point in their lives, and those who have no clue whatsoever.

LeBron has no endurance? Maybe not relative to Kenny Bekele, but I promise you he has plenty for the 400m.

Can't break 60? More like 70? loooooooooooooooooool

LeBron could take an entire summer off and still run 50-flat. Now, I don't think he could ever sniff 45, even with years of specific training. He is too big for that. I basically think his floor is about 50-flat, and his ceiling is about 47, which is pretty strange if you think about it.

I guess what I'm saying is that I think he's already just about as optimized for the 400 as he can be, based only on his basketball training. Years of dedicated work could knock a couple seconds off, but he is too large to ever be world-class.

You're right, you have no clue whatsoever.

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"For the half mile run (most folks listed are NBA hall of famers):

Elvin Hayes (28 years old - very athletic, similar build to Lebron but lighter): 2:30

John Havlecek (34 years old - known for his hustle and fitness): 2:21

Dave DeBusshcere (36 years old - voted top 50 players of all time - pitched in major leagues for two seasons): 2:25

Dave Cowens (33 years old): 2:26

Dan Majerle (36 years old): slower than 2:20"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

B-Ball Superstar wrote:

"For the half mile run (most folks listed are NBA hall of famers):

Elvin Hayes (28 years old - very athletic, similar build to Lebron but lighter): 2:30

John Havlecek (34 years old - known for his hustle and fitness): 2:21

Dave DeBusshcere (36 years old - voted top 50 players of all time - pitched in major leagues for two seasons): 2:25

Dave Cowens (33 years old): 2:26

Dan Majerle (36 years old): slower than 2:20"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'm not sure why you think it's relevant to bring up the race results of older, less-athletic players from a less-athletic era running twice the distance in a race in which they were not likely giving 100%. But please, keep doing it.