I think parkour deserves a mention among the most athletic and skillful non invasion sports, basically all the qualities of gymnastics with far greater enviromental complexity.
I agree about DBs: not only do they have to run backwards, but the WR had the advantage of knowing whether it's a run/pass play and the route. The DB has to cover, read and react, all against a very fast opponent. It's hard to argue against Deion Sanders being a 'great' athlete who happened to play Football (and baseball) very well.
Rather than 'skill', I use the term 'co-ordination.' The skill has to be learned, the co-ordination, which can be improved, might be more innate. But that might be semantics.
Watching Federer or Mbappe or Biles in full flow is a joy.
Hey Brian, just found this article, thanks for engaging with the old post! And great thoughts on this subject. I agree that ice hockey players like Gretzky are very impressive. And basketball for sure. Here's a fun hypothetical with a "view of ignorance" flavor: imagine you are picking someone to play on your team, but you don't know the sport, other than that it is very popular. Who do you pick? Makes you want someone like Nash, Curry, Iverson, Bo Jackson or Deion.
I get your point, but very hard to see a sport where LeBron would not be among the best. Baseball, in one sense, is one sport where it's a great unknown. Could he hit a curve ball? Or throw one to be a pitcher? Which then opens up someone like Aaron Judge or even Patrick Mahomes who was a good baseball player, is the best current football player, and likely would excel at any number of sports due to his athleticism, movement, and dexterity. LeBron, at worst, would project as a good goalie in soccer, middle blocker in volleyball, could play handball, football, rugby. He has the movement and endurance for tennis despite his size; could he hit a serve like Isner? Gymnastics, swimming, hockey, and other less mainstream sports may be the biggest challenges. I don't know enough about ice hockey to argue for a hockey player, but this is at least one argument for the transference from the ice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAxK8amhuJA
Did you see the argument made by Austin Rivers that at least 30 current NBA players could play in the NFL? I generally agree, as football, to me, is the sport with the greatest reliance on athleticism over skill. Guys like LeBron who are obviously athletic and skilled could transfer to positions such as WR, TE, DB, LB in a way few NFL players could hope to play in the NBA.
I think parkour deserves a mention among the most athletic and skillful non invasion sports, basically all the qualities of gymnastics with far greater enviromental complexity.
I agree about DBs: not only do they have to run backwards, but the WR had the advantage of knowing whether it's a run/pass play and the route. The DB has to cover, read and react, all against a very fast opponent. It's hard to argue against Deion Sanders being a 'great' athlete who happened to play Football (and baseball) very well.
Rather than 'skill', I use the term 'co-ordination.' The skill has to be learned, the co-ordination, which can be improved, might be more innate. But that might be semantics.
Watching Federer or Mbappe or Biles in full flow is a joy.
Hey Brian, just found this article, thanks for engaging with the old post! And great thoughts on this subject. I agree that ice hockey players like Gretzky are very impressive. And basketball for sure. Here's a fun hypothetical with a "view of ignorance" flavor: imagine you are picking someone to play on your team, but you don't know the sport, other than that it is very popular. Who do you pick? Makes you want someone like Nash, Curry, Iverson, Bo Jackson or Deion.
I get your point, but very hard to see a sport where LeBron would not be among the best. Baseball, in one sense, is one sport where it's a great unknown. Could he hit a curve ball? Or throw one to be a pitcher? Which then opens up someone like Aaron Judge or even Patrick Mahomes who was a good baseball player, is the best current football player, and likely would excel at any number of sports due to his athleticism, movement, and dexterity. LeBron, at worst, would project as a good goalie in soccer, middle blocker in volleyball, could play handball, football, rugby. He has the movement and endurance for tennis despite his size; could he hit a serve like Isner? Gymnastics, swimming, hockey, and other less mainstream sports may be the biggest challenges. I don't know enough about ice hockey to argue for a hockey player, but this is at least one argument for the transference from the ice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAxK8amhuJA
Did you see the argument made by Austin Rivers that at least 30 current NBA players could play in the NFL? I generally agree, as football, to me, is the sport with the greatest reliance on athleticism over skill. Guys like LeBron who are obviously athletic and skilled could transfer to positions such as WR, TE, DB, LB in a way few NFL players could hope to play in the NBA.
Hey Brian. You got me thinking so I wrote a new post: https://toddhargrove.substack.com/p/more-thoughts-on-goat-athletes