LeBron James - Article says he can run a 4:20 mile

swagner wrote:

LeBron definitely could go sub-5. I heard that AI could run 4:20, but that would be a stretch for LeBron. I would put him more in the 4:50 range. The thing with professional athletes is that they are really good at being athletic.

Once played basketball with some of the Philadelphia Eagles, and every singe one of them could dunk the ball with two hands. Even the 6'1" 365lbs guys.

Hate to break it to you but the athletic talent involved with explosive capabilities and the athletic talent involved with running distance at a good pace are two very, very different things.

Yeah Man wrote:

Hate to break it to you but the athletic talent involved with explosive capabilities and the athletic talent involved with running distance at a good pace are two very, very different things.

Hate to break it to you, but Sub-5 isn't a good pace.

swagner wrote:

Yeah Man wrote:

Hate to break it to you but the athletic talent involved with explosive capabilities and the athletic talent involved with running distance at a good pace are two very, very different things.

Hate to break it to you, but Sub-5 isn't a good pace.

Cute.

Stupid, of course. But cute.

Well done!

This is utter nonsense. The fact that you think it's obvious that Steph Curry could have run a 4-minute mile just underscores that you don't know what you're talking about. The guy became a superstar based on his shooting ability. What makes you think that the coordination and eyesight (not to mention a decade of extraordinarily rigorous practice) necessary to be a great 3-point shooter have anything at all to do with the astonishing aerobic talent necessary to run a 4-minute mile? Not only are most athletic abilities non-transferable, but they're actually incompatible. It's 1960s thinking that "a great athlete is a great athlete." LeBron may be one of the world's most gifted athletes, but the things that make him a great basketball player (being gigantic and having lots of fast twitch fibers) actually ensure that he wouldn't be a very good runner.

Incidentally, the fact that you and an Olympian at one point had a conversation about how good Buck Williams could be at various track events doesn't demonstrate anything other than that you didn't know what you were talking about then either.

Ridiculous.

Just because you are elite at one sport does not mean you are elite in others.

Can't say I agree with your logic here at all. I don't think Curry could run close to 4 flat-- I doubt he could run faster than 4:30 if he dropped basketball today and started running good training tomorrow. I think a lot of people fail to realize how massive these athletes are, they aren't built to run long distances at such a quick pace, too heavy and too bulky. Whens the last time a guy who was 6'10 ran under 5 minutes for the mile?

Yeah Man wrote:

swagner wrote:

Hate to break it to you, but Sub-5 isn't a good pace.

Cute.

Stupid, of course. But cute.

Well done!

According to athletic.net:

In 2017

23,085 Boys ran 4:58.26 or better in the 1600m

2,073 Boys ran 4:59.99 or better in the full mile.

So you are telling me that over 25,000 14-19 year old boys can toe the line against LeBron in a mile race, and he would finish last?

This doesn't even account for the females and middle schoolers that accomplished the feat.

So there is that...

Anything one mile or less does not require elite aerobic capacity to perform fairly well in. I think LeBron could break 2 in an 800. He's definitely got some stamina based on him playing entire games in the playoffs, which is very rare for an NBA player. I think he could beat a lot of decathletes in a 1500 for comparison. If say he could break 440, which is remarkable given his size. I'd say Iverson or rip Hamilton could have approached breaking the 420 barrier.

What in the F@*K are you smoking???? You need to get off the NBA's Jock and wake up. First, there is no doubt that NBA players are gifted athletes (short bursts of speed, leg strength, and overall explosive power)....Hmmmmm sounds a lot like a sprinter? A lot of stop and go with a lot of short periods of rest which is anaerobic. Unfortunately there isn't sufficient long term aerobic work being done (continuous running) combined with anaerobic to allow LeBron James or any other 200+ LB NBA player to be able to run fast over 200 meters (AT BEST), let alone a mile under 5:00 minutes (going down hill with the wind at his back). Saying Steph Curry could run close to 4:00 minutes if he decided to run track is pure speculation and doesn't even lend to this conversation. This is a clear case of "Apples and Oranges" and cannot be compared to each other. I'll bet that LeBron couldn't break 15 sec for 100m.....or 40 secs for 200m!!!

Nice work George Plimpton and you probably need to re-measure that 3:53 1500m you ran on that 300m track :(.......More like 4:53??????

swagner wrote:

Yeah Man wrote:

Cute.

Stupid, of course. But cute.

Well done!

According to athletic.net:

In 2017

23,085 Boys ran 4:58.26 or better in the 1600m

2,073 Boys ran 4:59.99 or better in the full mile.

So you are telling me that over 25,000 14-19 year old boys can toe the line against LeBron in a mile race, and he would finish last?

This doesn't even account for the females and middle schoolers that accomplished the feat.

So there is that...

When you put it that way, it sounds like he has a chance. But how many of the those 23,000 were 6'8" and 260 pounds?

I would bet heavily against 4:20. I would bet lightly against Lebron breaking 5:00.

swagner wrote:

According to athletic.net:

In 2017

23,085 Boys ran 4:58.26 or better in the 1600m

2,073 Boys ran 4:59.99 or better in the full mile.

So you are telling me that over 25,000 14-19 year old boys can toe the line against LeBron in a mile race, and he would finish last?

This doesn't even account for the females and middle schoolers that accomplished the feat.

So there is that...

No way Lebron would break 5. He would struggle to break 6. It doesn't matter that a bunch of high school boys can break 5. Has nothing to do with how fast a grown man that has almost all fast twitch fibers can run a mile. It is infuriating how many people here know nothing about exercise physiology.

Dimensions of an NBA court: 94' x 50' so the perimeter is 288'

In the video James did four laps. Assuming he ran completely around the perimeter he would have run 1152' or around 351 meters. The time he took to do this was 0:49.4. This would make a 0:56.3 for 400 meters. Continuing this pace for another 1258 meters would give him a 3:46.5 for the mile.

1) He was not even close to running around the perimeter.

2) He would have to maintain the same pace for 1609 meters that he ran for 351 meters.

3) He was gassed as hell at the end of this.

ZERO chance of running a 4:20 mile.

swagner wrote:

Yeah Man wrote:

Cute.

Stupid, of course. But cute.

Well done!

According to athletic.net:

In 2017

23,085 Boys ran 4:58.26 or better in the 1600m

2,073 Boys ran 4:59.99 or better in the full mile.

So you are telling me that over 25,000 14-19 year old boys can toe the line against LeBron in a mile race, and he would finish last?

This doesn't even account for the females and middle schoolers that accomplished the feat.

So there is that...

That's a good data point, but more data is needed.

How many miles did those boys run to break 5? And compare that to how many miles LeBron runs. Playing basketball certainly counts for endurance, but it's not the same as running nonstop 5 mile tempos, 16 mile long runs, etc. Hoops is short bursts with rest. If those boys could break 5 by just playing hoops they wouldn't be grinding out miles.

Also, how many of those boys are 6-8 250 to 280? You can't ignore basic physics.

I would love to see LBJ or any other famous athlete try it. Who knows what would happen. It's pretty easy to put it to the test and end all debate.

Maybe this will put the discussion to rest. Carl Lewis couldn't even break 2:15 in the 800.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTlrdczjjOA

[quote]you dont get it wrote:

Maybe this will put the discussion to rest. Carl Lewis couldn't even break 2:15 in the 800.

Um, the video said Lewis ran 2:10.73 in his preliminary.

There are also thousands of high school gymnasts who can do stuff that no NBA player could come close to doing. Just because thousands of generally average athletes can do something does not be that all great basketball players can do that same thing, especially when the athletic feat in question favors people who are generally smaller and thinner.

Being a great basketball player has nothing to do with being a good distance runner. Absolutely nothing about Lebron's skillset or physique would lend itself to running a fast mile. And yes, 4:20 is fast for a mile.

you dont get it wrote:

Maybe this will put the discussion to rest. Carl Lewis couldn't even break 2:15 in the 800.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTlrdczjjOA

These guys at the beginning are hilarious. They know exactly what kind of pain they are in for. Sprints feel exhilarating. 800 is agonizing. "Why am I doing this?!?!?!" haha

you dont get it wrote:

Maybe this will put the discussion to rest. Carl Lewis couldn't even break 2:15 in the 800.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTlrdczjjOA

That was a fantastic video. Thanks for sharing it.