Even before the summer NBA draft there was already a lot of talk about how the Frenchman Wembanyama could revolutionize Stars and Stripes basketball. Starting from these premises, it certainly cannot be said that the athlete of transalpine origins has disappointed overseas ball enthusiasts.
On the other hand, however, the phenomenon linked to Wembanyama increasingly highlights an interesting aspect linked to basketball, namely that the way of conceiving basketball on the pitch has changed considerably. Nowadays, in fact, there are players capable of combining the quickness of their feet at the level of guards or point guards with a pivot body. So let’s try to find out what the records are.
From Holmgren to Kornet, heights above 215 centimetres
It was once said that there were few centers around capable of making the difference, but now even the tallest players are absolutely not one-dimensional, but always capable of covering multiple roles. It is clear that the main reference, also due to the media attention it brings with it, is that of Wembanyama, but in reality other athletes also stand out from this point of view.
It’s impossible not to refer to Chet Holmgren, who is proving his worth after the unfortunate foot injury that prevented him from taking the field in his first season in the NBA. So, this, which has just begun, is his true rookie season and the numbers he is putting together are a double testimony. First of all, of the increasingly central role that he is having in the backbone of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but also of how the injury is now a distant memory.
If Holmgren reaches 216 centimeters, but can be mobile and active on his feet as if he were a guard, the same certainly cannot be said of Luke Kornet. This is the reserve center of the Boston Celtics: he is certainly not a player of who knows what talent, but from the height of his 218 centimeters, he in any case manages to create wood in the middle of the area, guaranteeing minutes of rebounds and intimidation in the area.
Bol Bol’s growth and Porzingis’ desire to win
Among the tallest players on the court overseas, it is impossible not to notice Bol Bol. At 218 centimeters he could only be the son of Manute Bol, who with his 231 centimeters was one of the tallest players to have played in the top stars and stripes league. Bol Bol is improving from a physical and technical point of view: more mobile and flexible than some time ago, now his coordination is also reaching NBA level. By fixing a few more shortcomings, such as in shooting and in terms of maturity of choices, he can become one of the best.
Another very tall player who plays in the NBA is undoubtedly Kristaps Porzingis. This is the Boston Celtics’ summer move with a view to trying to get their hands back on a title that has been missing for too many years now. The Latvian combines mobility with great precision from the three-point arc and is already becoming fundamental in the Celtics’ mechanisms. At 221 centimeters tall, however, the Latvian is dwarfed by two enormous heights. We are referring to Boban Marjanovic and, of course, the French talent Wembanyama. The former has a size that seems infinite and is trying to carve out an important role in Houston’s rotations. Different story for the Frenchman, 226 centimeters tall, welcomed like a star in San Antonio, grappling with the burdens and honors of his first season as a rookie.
2024-01-09 21:28:14
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