Could Lebron James run sub-60 for 400m?

Russell was a 6'11 high jumper.

As I recall, He was 2nd in either the AAU Championships or the Olympic Trials in 1956.

I often wondered how high Michael Jordan could high jump. He seems like the pro athlete best suited to it, in height and build. Would Barshim be able to dunk like Jordan, get as high in the air I mean?

Absolutely no way. He'd run the first 200 in 34 and jog the rest. People are dreaming here.

king tut wrote:

Could Lebron run sub-60 for a quarter?

6 weeks of training and he goes 49.xx.

60 is easy for most elite NBA players. I'd be willing to bet that Russell Westbrook could go 46.xx given a year of training.

Most high-major D1 guards can break 5:30 for the mile. Most big guys can break 6 minutes. And NBA guys would obviously tend to be faster.

Spencer Hawes ran a 5:23 mile when he was with the Sixers:

http://articles.philly.com/2010-09-29/sports/24977089_1_big-guys-tough-guy-hawes

If they can run that fast for a mile, you know they could easily smoke a 400 in under 60 since basketball is more fast-twitch oriented. I wouldn't be surprised if Lebron was at least low 50's and definitely sub 50 if he trained for it.

koose wrote:

60 is easy for most elite NBA players. I'd be willing to bet that Russell Westbrook could go 46.xx given a year of training.

I would take that bet.

Yes, I'm sure the world's greatest athlete would have difficulty running even with a slightly above average HS runner. Are you kidding? Do you understand that a 6'8" guy who weighs 250 is a slightly different animal than a 5'10" guy who weighs 250? What if there were some dream of nature who was 7'4", 300 lbs and as quick and athletic as Lebron? Could he not break 70 because 300 lb'ers just can't break 70?

Thanks Malcolm. Great Post. Totally Agree.

dc wonk wrote:

Absolutely no way. He'd run the first 200 in 34 and jog the rest. People are dreaming here.

Are you people serious?

He would run around 55 without much trouble, he probably has 49 point potential.

Could he? Yes, most likely he could with some training. Can he do it right now? I highly doubt it.

He could, without question.

I'm 34 now and ran 57.59 FAT when I was 15 which remains my lifetime best.

Ran 56.58 hand timed that same season, but that doesn't count

as it was a time trial and the track didn't yet have painted lanes or a rail.

I hugged the inside lane and may well have covered 395m or something like that.

Anyways, I've jogged to stay in shape throughout my 20's but haven't done an actual race since 2005.

I am in above average shape compared to the average man my age, I would guess.

At the age of 28, with a similar routine to what I have now of casual jogging and lifting every now and then,

and with a 40hr/week job, I did 62.8 on a shale track wearing racing flats. (should have worn something with more traction)

Reasonably happy to be close to 60 and my dad thought for a while I could have broken 60 but I didn't.

Anyways, point being (did you guess I have a good memory and love to give detail and stats?)

I at 28 or even now am not in the same condition as LJ, who is a professional athlete.

He would run 54 at worst, perhaps faster.

I'm thinking Lebron at his current age could hit 55 flat.

Thanks for bumping this thread. Fun read.

One of the oddest things about Greg Oden was that he was not only incredibly strong but he ran the speed tests better than Kevin Durant, who couldn't do one rep of 185 lb bench. Oden was incredibly talented. Real shame he couldn't stay healthy for even one season.

I found actual data on LeBron James:

The average player takes 13 strides down the court; Lebron takes nine.

Lebron's top speed is over 20 mph, as fast as Chris Paul.

The average qb takes .4 seconds to release the football; Lebron takes 0.18 seconds and hits a 12 yard target faster than Brady.

Lebron passes the basketball at 40 mph.

He releases his jump shot at over 9 ft in the air.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2013/05/28/espns-sports-science-proves-lebron-is-amazing-even-in-ways-that-dont-make-sense

This sport science report has him do a chase-down block on GS where he has to go around players and slow at times to wait, yet he takes just 2.67 seconds, faster than a rb Jamaal Charles on an astroturf field with no obstacles to accelerate through 60 feet, reaches a top speed of 20.1 mph, and raises his center of gravity by 35" in trapping the ball at 11'5" on the board. He has just 0.20 seconds to get to the right spot to trap the ball on the backboard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQLSlWi7NRA

Top speed of the fastest player tracked in the 2010 World Cup was 19.98 mph.

http://www.thebesteleven.com/2010/07/world-cup-2010-speed-and-distance-stats.html

With some training, yes.