Your best example of a guy that could dominate as an NFL WR runs a 4.6? That's near the bottom of the WR who run in the combine. There are NFL guys that can run circles around him.

you don't need to separate from coverage when you can simply out-jump coverage...not to mention the fact he pretty much already has a 1 foot head start to begin with...

Since we're never gong to get him on the field there is no way to know. A lot of freaks have busted in the NFL. I don't even think the question of whether player x could play sport y is even close to the best way to assess athleticism.

Do you at least concede that the overall speed in the NFL exceeds the overall speed in the NBA? Take the top 20th percentile in each sport.

I'd say that's a fair assumption.

He would average 30 yards per catch with one career catch before he was broken completely in half by some safety.

Why do you say that?

Kobe Bryant is bigger and tougher than most NFL receivers.

You're telling me Ted Ginn is tougher than Kobe Bryant?

Yes, probably. Kobe Bryant is 6-6 and 200 pounds. How do you define tough? If you define strength, I am pretty sure that Ted Ginn Jr is stonger than Kobe Bryant even though Tedd Ginn one of the least strongest guys in football. Probably be pretty close, but I doubt Kobe can bench press 275 lbs and Ted Ginn would definitely have him on squats and deadlifts. Ted Ginn Jr is undoubtedly faster than Kobe Bryant as well. Kobe should have him on hops though.

The first thing that everyone needs to understand is that the ability to shoot basketballs into a net is NOT a strictly athletic quality. Larry Bird couldn't run and couldn't jump but he's one of teh best basketball players EVER because he could put ball into a hoop as the result of twenty million hours of practice.

Let's limit athleticism to the general qualities of strength, speed, quickness and jumping. Turn it into Track and Field, decathalon type skills, if you will. Nothing else is relevant. Nobody is asking LeBron to hold the point of attack as a Nose Guard, so don't ask the f'n nose guard to shoot baskets. It's silly.

While it's fine to point to LeBron James, it's kind of silly to just point to ONE guy and say it applies to all, or that he is a representative sampling.

What position could KG play in the NFL? Probably none. He's too tall and too thin to survive. He'd be a great WR for three plays. Would Shaq have been able to do anything? No. Too tall -- he couldn't get leverage int he lines, and would be too slow to do anything else.

That doesn't make them lesser athletes, it just means that the body types are so different the comparisons are challenging.

Let's accept the obvious reality -- most athletes, if given a choice to be a basketball player or football player will take basketball. Why? Because basketball players make much more money and take much less of a beating. It's a function of the number of players on a team, the number of games per year, and a host of other factors. No player in NFL history has made the average salaries that Kobe, KG, Pierce, etc. make.

Putting all that aside, I think that it is a very difficult comparison because basketball players on average may be more well rounded athletes, while football players are HYPERspecialized athletes. Linemen (both sides of the ball) are tremendous strong, have great understanding of leverage and while not fast, have great endurance. Defensive backs and WRs can run dashes time after time after time after time. All NFL players have absurd toughness.

Basketball players have great agility and leaping ability, but don't need quite as much endurance, even for running. I'd be interested in seeing who, without additional training, would last longer running 60 pass patterns (NFL average per team) in a row, an NBA player or a NFL player. I suspect the WR or DB would win that one.

Overall, I'd give the edge "on average" to NFL players. As a general rule, they are much stronger and much tougher. Leaping ability would be in favor of NBA players, generally. Speed would generally go to NFL players at comparable positions.

4.6 is slow for NFL WR. He'd project at TE, and would no doubt be a great one.

But one man doesn't solve an argument.

Larry Bird is one of the best b'ball players ever, but he kills your argument in the other direction.

And I wouldn't argue that Michael Jordan sucked as an athlete because he washed out as a baseball player.

Focusing on one person, or one set of skills (such as hitting a ball, or shooting a hoop) makes the whole conversation pointless.

It's the Randy Moss situation. IF you have the endurance ability to do it over and over and over, and the toughness to take a hit.

Because someone that height would get broke.. 200 lbs at 6'6", he would snapped in half by most safeties and LB'rs..

There is a certain point that height becomes a disadvantage to WR's that tall.. That is why you do not see them in the NFL..

Your idea of a tall and fast WR is not revolutionary.. It just doesn't work because they get hurt..

Hell, what was the guy from the Chargers and Dolphins that got to big too be effective as a WR?? Guy ended up looking like a body builder and got hurt to much..

David Boston. He 'roided up for reasons that are unclear. Seemed like everything was going well, then he decided he wanted a LB body. :spock:

Already mentioned in this thread as an example of why BB players can't just bulk up and become just as strong as NFL players. It hurts other areas of their athleticism.

NBA players are more athletic. Have you ever seen a fat NBA player? ;)