I agree that basketball requires quite a bit of athleticism, but height isn't an athletic trait, so suggesting that below average height soccer players can't dunk doesn't really undermine the athletic ability of said soccer players (are their verticals even measured?)
Which sport has the best athletes?
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DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
Football, their games may be paced but practice sure isn't
gymnastics - you can see the results for yourself
track - there is no harder beginning
Basketball - takes people and grinds them down into dust at a real pace.
Soccer - the size of the field alone...
if we are asking who has teh best conditioned athletes there will be stand outs from every single sport. Most of them will do all 3 things
weights , cardiovascular , and then their actual plyometric/sports practice.
A basketball player that trains hard is not going to put a track star to shame, nor will a gymnast put a football player who just went thru trainning camp to shame. They all have well rounded training to play their sports. Hockey and soccer are no different. You wanna play at the highest level? Then you are gonna train those three areas in the very LEAST.
gymnastics - you can see the results for yourself
track - there is no harder beginning
Basketball - takes people and grinds them down into dust at a real pace.
Soccer - the size of the field alone...
if we are asking who has teh best conditioned athletes there will be stand outs from every single sport. Most of them will do all 3 things
weights , cardiovascular , and then their actual plyometric/sports practice.
A basketball player that trains hard is not going to put a track star to shame, nor will a gymnast put a football player who just went thru trainning camp to shame. They all have well rounded training to play their sports. Hockey and soccer are no different. You wanna play at the highest level? Then you are gonna train those three areas in the very LEAST.
FonkyByNature
Member
In my opinion. Soccer by far because of the very demanding cardio.
I wouldn't say Basketball because the court is kinda small and there's more player rotation than Soccer.
I wouldn't say Basketball because the court is kinda small and there's more player rotation than Soccer.
thelatestmodel
Junior, please.
You've obviously never tried, or you would know that it actually isn't.
mutfox said:
I am aware of this, I was just stating the potential maximum. I've seen guys with a high VO2 Max like Duncan Keith last for about 2 minutes, but yes, under a minute is the norm.
Fenderputty
Banned
Hockey, basketball and soccer. One of those.
More physical contact. More jumping. More defensive stance (shits not easy like standing).
I think all three of the sports I listed have their pluses and minuses and probably average out in the end.
More physical contact. More jumping. More defensive stance (shits not easy like standing).
I think all three of the sports I listed have their pluses and minuses and probably average out in the end.
Psychological Intellect
Banned
The freaks in the NBA at the point guard position(Westbrook,Rose,Bledsoe), the forward position(LeBron,Griffin,Durant) and Center(Dwight Howard,DeAndre) are probably the best athletes in the world. I'd put LeBron in top 5 best athletes in sports ever.
So strong,fast,quick,coordinated,and have tons of stamina to compete for 48 minutes and 80+ games in a season(excluding rose of course)
Stamina especially, I know Basketball has tons of fouls and timeouts but when you're on the floor you're constantly moving, not time to take a breather, and if you do, you'll get called out for being lazy or playing zero defense.
So strong,fast,quick,coordinated,and have tons of stamina to compete for 48 minutes and 80+ games in a season(excluding rose of course)
Stamina especially, I know Basketball has tons of fouls and timeouts but when you're on the floor you're constantly moving, not time to take a breather, and if you do, you'll get called out for being lazy or playing zero defense.
Frankenstrat
Member
Ultramarathons/triathlons I think. Stupendous feats of stamina required.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Out of interest, do sports other than football/soccer have a relative common occurence of competitors suffering heart attacks during matches? There's been quite a few instances of footballers having cardiac arrests due to unknown heart issues and too much strain, but obviosuly that's with a far greater pool of players than most other sports in which exertion is constant
iMAGINATION
Banned
Lacrosse midfielders or football
nephilimdj
Member
AFL is definitely up there in terms of versatile or "complete" atheletes, and this is coming from an Aussie who'd rather watch a Soccer match than an Aussie Rules game.
- Midfielders can cover up to 20km in the course of the 2 hour game while getting into close physical contests on a regular basis
- They can leap like in the gif above
They're agile
They're strong
They're fast and can kick with pinpoint accuracy
113 average interchanges a match in AFL, compared to 3 in soccer
AFL players get tons of rest breaks
The Omega Man
Member
Table Tennis
Professional Table Tennis players have to move ultra fast, it requires incredible fast reflexes to evaluate and effectively counter the spin your opponent put into the ball and incredible precision to deal with such a small ball and small table.
forget what you know about Ping-Pong this is another thing.
Give this video a watch and enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2JpLj6aXCI
Professional Table Tennis players have to move ultra fast, it requires incredible fast reflexes to evaluate and effectively counter the spin your opponent put into the ball and incredible precision to deal with such a small ball and small table.
forget what you know about Ping-Pong this is another thing.
Give this video a watch and enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2JpLj6aXCI
A couple instances of heart issues in the NHL/Hockey (RIch Peverley, Jiri Fischer, Alexei Cherapanov)
Seriously? I know that it actually is. The hard work is in changing direction, but you have to maintain a sprint on foot. Skating makes the pace of NHL possible, not harder.
Footballers are pushed to their limits every bit as much as hockey players.
Depenfs of the weight class. Light weight prefers speed, heavy weight, strength and toughness.
It's just different, in team sports, playing a professional soccer game is like a marathon.
Professional Hockey is more like several sprints.
Just different.
Football/Soccer. The height/Corpulence of players reflect that of the population at large. Basketball is skewed towards very tall people and gridiron/hockey toward corpulent ones. At football you can see players like Messi at 1.69 m competing against a 1.95 m Ibrahimović. A pool of the best selected out of the whole male population of most of the world.
equippedwithtowel
Member
And that bonus momentum is used by 220lb guys in body armor trying to drive their shoulder into your face. Not to mention the sheer lower body strength that high mobility defensemen like Karlsson or Subban need to change direction on a dime.
The Albatross
Member
If we're going to sports like boxing, then I'd have to say that. You have to be in peak shape, stamina and strength, to box. I suppose those mix martial arts too, but I just don't know much about them to say. I'd put football/soccer midfielders somewhere, just so much ground to cover in a game.
Surprised to see so many "Basketball" votes on the front page. Man, so many basketball players dog it up and down the court. Aside from baseball, I think it's such a classic sport of doing as little as possible when you don't have to.
Also, certain NFL positions even if the guys look like fat asses, they are incredible athletes. Vince Wilfork, all 330lbs of him, runs a 5.05 40-time.
Surprised to see so many "Basketball" votes on the front page. Man, so many basketball players dog it up and down the court. Aside from baseball, I think it's such a classic sport of doing as little as possible when you don't have to.
Also, certain NFL positions even if the guys look like fat asses, they are incredible athletes. Vince Wilfork, all 330lbs of him, runs a 5.05 40-time.
fuzzyreactor
Banned
hockey
Triathlon seems like a good pick. I guess it depends on what kind of qualities you expect from an athlete
I'd hurdle her
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
Even heavy weights are pretty quick. Their movement might be a little more ponderous but they can still deliver fast combinations.
Drum and Bugle Corps (summer marching band for 15-22 year olds)
Serious, just watch.
Endurance study in 1993
Study in 2005
Serious, just watch.
Endurance study in 1993
Study in 2005
cripterion
Member
Butterbean?
BearFlexington
Member
I say wrestling (greco roman, not "pro"), but this list has it as boxing.
http://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/fittest-sport/espn.htm
http://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/fittest-sport/espn.htm
crimzonflame
Member
That study was for the hardest sport. 1. Boxing. 2. Hockey.
Oh yeah....
TheWarrior
Banned
Whatever Jim Thorpe did
Boxing, only if you do heavyweights.
Floyd Mayweather is no athlete compared to Klitschko. K would just laugh with Floyd running around like a child around him with his jabs.
I don't know rugby so no comment.
Prince Fielder kills baseball
Fat boy Melo and the entire Knicks team make basketball look bad.
Soccer I laugh at, it's just a marathon runner kicking a ball around, which btw, the best athlete in the sport had to be on HGH most of his growing life to even consider being able to play the sport.
Am. Football, some are amazing, others are fat POS like Albert Haynesworth.
The only answer is hockey.
Floyd Mayweather is no athlete compared to Klitschko. K would just laugh with Floyd running around like a child around him with his jabs.
I don't know rugby so no comment.
Prince Fielder kills baseball
Fat boy Melo and the entire Knicks team make basketball look bad.
Soccer I laugh at, it's just a marathon runner kicking a ball around, which btw, the best athlete in the sport had to be on HGH most of his growing life to even consider being able to play the sport.
Am. Football, some are amazing, others are fat POS like Albert Haynesworth.
The only answer is hockey.
theepicoftyler
Member
EDIT: One of the most physically dominating athletes in sports, being beaten by an impressive athlete that's over a foot shorter than him.
Picking your fights, fixing them, and hopping around for 12 rounds is an athlete?
Ain't K's fault there's no one left in the division besides his own brother to beat.
EDIT: One of the most physically dominating athletes in sports, being beaten by an impressive athlete that's over a foot shorter than him.
He couldn't make it in the NFL or the NHL.
I love the NBA, but Lebron doesn't even make it out of "best athletes from an American sport" bracket
thelatestmodel
Junior, please.
OK, you know what buddy? I'm just gonna let you lace 'em up and try it. You don't know what you're talking about.
You laugh at soccer and I laugh at hockey. Only sport where you try to lessen friction by figure skating 20 ft on one stride.
Cycling still doesn't get enough love here. Those guys are freaks.
cripterion
Member
Hmm that's like saying Wayne Gretzky woulnd't make into the NBA. Everyone's got their own thing.
I think there's no way the average ice hockey player is more fit than the average basketball player. Just my opinion.
Halcyon
Member
EDIT: One of the most physically dominating athletes in sports, being beaten by an impressive athlete that's over a foot shorter than him.
Look here he is being faster than everyone.
Here he is almost hitting his dick on the rim
We're talking about Mayweather right? Because his defense is considerably more involved than 'hopping around.'
And of course he can pick his fights. There's no one who poses a decent challenge to him so it's basically his choice about who will bring him the most PPV buys. And the people that he has fought look amateur against him when they've looked stellar in earlier fights.
RED CARD!
Not even the best player in the world.
"upper body injury" and he wanted to come back.
Best player can't run
He wouldn't. Lebron is a freak athlete in the NBA. He wouldn't make it as a TE in the NFL, and would get destroyed in the NHL.
NHL players play shifts with broken legs.
Lebron falls down if you blow on him.
theepicoftyler
Member
Lebron falls down if you blown on him because he's exploiting the referees, not because he is weak.
cripterion
Member
But are you measuring best athletes on who can take the most punishment then? Cause in that case I think it's safe to say MMA wins this one easily.
And by the way playing with an injury doesn't automatically make you a great athlete imo...
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
he also trucks people he just doesnt get called for charging as much as someone who cant do waht he does. The dude is huge , ill agree he probably doesnt want to play the pain management game, but he's not worried about a thing on a basketball court.
TheWarrior
Banned
I'm going to have to go with the Triathalon athletes. That's some serious shit.
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