How fast could the fastest nba player run a mile?

Let's look at a couple of decathlete's times for comparison.

Eaton's best 1500 is 4:14 which converts to around 4:35. Clay's best 1500 is 4:38 which is around 5:00. Clay is more of a power guy while Eaton is obviously more of a runner but I doubt if either do much distance training.

It seems like guys like Rondo or Stephen Curry could dip under 4:50 but 4:30 may be a little fast.

I used to work for a D1 College Basketball team. In our preseason conditioning we usually had a couple guys break 5 every year in the mile with no prior running experience. A couple of these guys went on to play in the D League. I would say there are a few in the NBA who could run under 4:40 right now, and if they were to focus on training specifically for the event for a few weeks in the offseason I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple run 4:30 like you guessed.

Yeah but those decathletes are running those times after already doing 9 events.

True, so that means they are even faster with little specific distance training. So there are probably a few guys in the NBA at least that fast.

Joakim Noah's wife wrote:

Yeah but those decathletes are running those times after already doing 9 events.

That's an exaggerated observation. The shotput does not take anything out of your legs.

I bet Nate Robinson could throw down a 4:20 mile

Shotput? No legs? Really?

Back in the 80s, I thought Isiah Thomas could run a 45 second 400. I don't know about the mile, why not ask who could run a great 400?

I played D1 ball with aspirations to play pro. I never made it but ran 4:06 mile. So 4:06 would be answer if I had made it.

Larry Bird is/was an avid runner. I remember him running around 30' for a 5-miler once. But he claims his best mile was 5:08. Not bad for a big guy.

http://books.google.com/books?id=_pIH7oj3ZHcC&pg=PA106&dq=larry+bird+5+mile+race&hl=en&sa=X&ei=imyGUfGtJqT-4AOFoIGQBg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=larry%20bird%205%20mile%20race&f=false

No one would break 5:20

But the 100, 110HH, 400, long jump, and pole vault do. Its also the accumulation of having to do 10 events that is in fact exhausting. I'm sure for most decathletes the effect is worth at least 10-15 seconds.

JMartin wrote:

Shotput? No legs? Really?

Yes, no legs. The shotput does not hurt your mile time. What do they do like 3-6 attempts and that's it? With tons of rest in between?

fgjjjh wrote:

Yes, no legs. The shotput does not hurt your mile time. What do they do like 3-6 attempts and that's it? With tons of rest in between?

The shot put is something like 80% force generation from below the waist. It's legs alright. And don't forget the warm-up throws. It takes a toll.

Elite Hobby Jogger wrote:

fgjjjh wrote:

Yes, no legs. The shotput does not hurt your mile time. What do they do like 3-6 attempts and that's it? With tons of rest in between?

The shot put is something like 80% force generation from below the waist. It's legs alright. And don't forget the warm-up throws. It takes a toll.

I never said the shotput doesn't involve legs. I said that it doesn't affect your mile time. It does not take a toll on your mile time.

Richard Hamilton of the Chicago Bulls used to run a mile in 4:30 in his prime. Also Allen Iverson used to run sub 5 in his prime without any warmup. Both were obviously exceptional athletes.

I think Kobe in his prime could have knocked out a fast mile. I'm not sure about the mile though, but I think LeBron, actually I guarantee you, that LeBron can go sub 50 in the 400.

xcthug wrote:

I'm not sure about the mile though, but I think LeBron, actually I guarantee you, that LeBron can go sub 50 in the 400.

So you think Lebron could possibly run sub 5 and definitely run sub 50? Based on what exactly?

fgjjjh wrote:

xcthug wrote:

I'm not sure about the mile though, but I think LeBron, actually I guarantee you, that LeBron can go sub 50 in the 400.

So you think Lebron could possibly run sub 5 and definitely run sub 50? Based on what exactly?

He's extremely fast, has very good endurance, and is probably one of the best overall athletes in the last century. Good athletes have a tendency to run well in the 400 without much training.