If LeBron Trains for a year what does the point spread have to be for you to take him over Bryan Clay in the Decathalon?

POD!

Now how would he match up with Iverson?

Lebron is a freak. But he is way to heavy to be an elite decathlete. He would have a hard time jumping 6'4 . . . leaping ability is not synonymous with the ability to arch. Go watch a HS track meet and see the kid with good hops clear 5'10. He needs to lose about 45-50lbs first.

I think he would be good at the throws, but still not as a good as Clay. Clay is the best throwing decathlete ever! Check the numbers. Lebron doesn't have enough time in one year to learn to the throws that well.

If Lebron cracked 16 in the hurdles, 54 in the 400m and 5:30 in the 1500 I would be impressed. He is far too big, He might break 11.5 in the 100m dash.

If he trained for a year and broke 7000 I would be damn impressed.

I know guys that were 20.40 200m guys and a 7ft HJ'er and never panned out as a dec. Check the trials results of Ryan Olkowski.

LeBron could hurdle 6'. I'm pretty sure he could clear 7'. I don't see any issue with his weight. If the guy is still elevating, it seems, on dunks, I'm pretty sure 7' with some practice is more than within his realm. He may be 275 lbs, but it's clearly not holding him back.

I think LJ would be the most interesting. The guy takes off from the free throw line and pins layups against the backboard.

The throwing events...he would dominate. The technique is, of course, a career long battle. But I highly doubt a athletically smart guy like that couldn't figure it out.

And I know everyone likes to pick out the AI and Rip Hamilton examples, but I am a firm believer that these guys running up and down the court for 40+ minutes a game is enough to will them to a decent 1500.

stfu you fool, lebron IS TOO HEAVEY TO JUMP 7FT ARCHED...

and your making me laugh every time you say he can run a 52 lmao, think of bekele kicking his last lap in 52 and lebron running right next to him...thats not happening if he had 100m head start...lebron is not running anywhere near 75s for 4 laps...infact he would be hard presed to break 6minutes for the mile. Lebron is just to heavy..there is no argument against body weight...he is 6'8 (not 6'6 or 6'7) and weigh to heavy to run that fast. he is not even coordinated enough to run or throw effiently

He's heavy but not heavy like a typical fat football player.

http://myfutureinfocus.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/lebronjames.jpg

Give the guy some credit, he's young and in good shape. I don't think it'd be a huge struggle to break 5 (in the 15) if he had a little practice with pacing.

First of all, comparing the closing speed of Bekele who has already run a considerable distance to the all out 400m speed of LeBron is not comparing apples to apples. Furthermore, we're not talking about Lebron right off the court, he would have a years worth of 400m training in him and would probably be a little slimmer than 260.

Second of all, nobody is saying he's running "75s for 4 laps."

That my friend, is a 5 minute mile, which is about a 4:43 1500. Nobody has claimed he would be able to run a 4:43 1500.

Do you honestly believe Lebron is not coordinated enough to run or throw? Have you ever played basketball? Probably not. Go play basketball, then go watch Lebron in action and you will see how incredibly coordinated he is.

I think it's funny how many time Lebron's weight and height have fluctuated in this topic so far. You guys talk about his weight like it's there permanently. If he had a year to train, it's more than probably that a good 20 pounds (at least) could come off of that. He could probably go from 250ish to 220ish if he worked at it.

And look at it from a standpoint of pure athleticism. And someone made a good point about his competitive nature. Asking him to become a good decathlete in one year is impossible, flat out. But he could be respectable in that year of training, no doubt. 1800 point lead may get him close to Clay, if he really put in the hours that it takes to become a great decathlete. But if anybody had a shot at it, it'd be him.

I think you guys are overestimating how well LeBron would do in several of the decathlon events.

Why would anyone think that it's a guarantee for LeBron to even run under 11.0 in the 100m? The guy is quick no doubt, but he isn't the fastest guy in the NBA or anything. This isn't the NFL where the most of the top RBs and WRs could break 10.75 or so. Could he break 11.0? Certainly not impossible, but it's not a given at all.

Several folks have said he'd run under 50.0 for the 400m. Are you serious? Come on now, I have serious doubts that he could EVER run that kind of time. Were none of you guys sprinters? Under 50.0 is a great time, especially if you are a bit (and in LeBron's case a lot) hefty. I really don't think he'd get faster than a 52-3.

I agree that he could be a great thrower. He is 6'8" and has a huge wingspan. I don't want to assume that he is actually as strong as his muscles make him look however. I know plenty of muscular guys that I play basketball with who are really not that strong (I have lifted weights with them as well). Muscle tone and brute strength are totally different things. I do think LeBron has the innate skeletal structure that he would need though to obtain some serious strength if he doesn't already possess it.

Hurdles under 16? Maybe, but again you would have to assume that his basketball quickness translates into sub-11 100m speed. That may not be the case. If he can't crack 11 in the 100, I don't see a sub-16 in the 110s. Possible, but again no guarantee.

Pole Vault above 14-6? Are you joking me? I am going to say that he would probably have serious trouble getting anything above 12'. Clearly, most of you have never pole vaulted. Totally different animal from basketball (I've done both, trust me).

As far as the jumps, I think he'd likely jump his height. Do you guys think LeBron has more hops than your average state high jump champ? Hell no. LeBron is explosive, but he's 6'8" and has above-average hops. But his hops are nowhere near those of MANY people. He just happens to be super-tall. I do think he could jump ~23-24. But anything above that would probably be pushing it. He's got no more jumping ability than a good state champ.

I also agree with those that LeBron would probably have serious trouble breaking 6:00 in the 1500m at his current weight. He is simply too big. If he lost 50 pounds, I think he'd have a shot at 5:15 or so.

Fun to debate, but we'll probably never know.

Although I agree that hes probably average at a lot of events, for anyone to suggest his jumping ability is that of a good state champ is the most f***ing ridiculous thing ive ever read or heard. Hed easily jump 26 ft and clear 7 ft with training over the course of a year. that is a damn fact, the guy has more athletic skill than most of us will ever witness again

This is THE biggest waste of keystrokes ever!

so much wrong with your post...so little time

"Do you guys think LeBron has more hops than your average state high jump champ?" YES

"LeBron...has above-average hops" Do you high jump 9 ft or something? You must, because any normal person can see from watching one video clip that he has way better than "above-average" hops. Just youtube....well...anything of LeBron and you'll see his head above the rim on dunks IN A GAME...with 9 other guys around him he has to adjust to. Imagine if he had no other task but to run the curve and jump as high as possible to clear a bar.

"I do think he could jump ~23-24. But anything above that would probably be pushing it"

Hell I bet LeBron could jump 24' dribbling a basketball up to the toe board and stutter stepping from 20 ft out. To be able to dunk from the free throw line, while dribbling a basketball, without a specific mark to start from, at least converts to a 25' LJ with technique, no ball, and a mark.

"He's got no more jumping ability than a good state champ" How many high school state champs do you know that can dunk from the free throw line? Marquis Goodwin not included?

"Pole Vault above 14-6? Are you joking me? I am going to say that he would probably have serious trouble getting anything above 12'. Clearly, most of you have never pole vaulted. Totally different animal from basketball (I've done both, trust me)."

You must have never seen a collegiate decathlete pole vault. Most of those guys just launch themselves b/c they are so fast and strong yet have very little technique. LeBron could do the same seeing as he's twice as athletic as collegiate decathletes.

The doubters are just incredible here. We need some proper perspective.

Anybody a college basketball fan? Did you watch some March Madness? Those guys are pretty amazing, right? It's hard to tell on the little TV screen, but even the small point guards and shooting guards are 6'2", with strength and hops out the door. Are you people really doubting that there are some serious all-around athletes among these players?

Now understand this - college basketball is child's play. Only 2% of the players that you saw will even make it to play in the NBA. Why? Because they're too weak, too slow, and too uncoordinated. LeBron James at 25 years old, and the best player and greatest athlete in the NBA, is a god among boys compared to them.

You're crazy if you don't think he could compete at the college decathlete level (~8000 pts).

He can't, you'd have to go to polevaultpower.com to get some realistic views on what he could do in pole vault. I have a kid that has vaulted 11 times that is 1/3 the athlete that lebron is that jumped 13 last weekend. Guess again morons.

asdfasdf wrote:

I don't want to assume that he is actually as strong as his muscles make him look however. I know plenty of muscular guys that I play basketball with who are really not that strong (I have lifted weights with them as well). .

A few games ago a 200 lb point guard wrapped Lebron up as he was going for a layup. Lebron lifted the guy over a foot off the floor as he jumped and made the shot. Add 200 to Lebrons 260 and that is a lot of weight to get off the floor and make the basket.

Lebron shot a REGULAR jump shot at the end of the 3rd quarter the other night from one foot inside half court. The next day at practice, nobody else on the team could get it to the rim.

Are you guys forgetting who Wilt Chamberlain is? 6'6 hj 49.0 440yards 53 ft shot in high school at 7'1 275. I think everyone here is giving way too much credit to decathletes. A few are animals like eaton, clay, papas and hardee but most NCAA guys are are 10.9x/49x well trained and technically sound guys without amazing altheticism. Granted LeBron would struggle in the technical events early on but thats only because he hasnt been properly trained. Everything involving pure athleticism he would dominant. I know a guy (7700+) who doesn't impress me at all but has had excellent coaching since early hs.

Your average state high jump champ wins at 6'10"-7' and is basically NEVER 6'8". So guess what? All of those guys have 40 inch (or above) verticals. Now, what's LeBron's vertical? Various accounts put it at somewhere in the mid-high thirties (37-38). I already said this, but he gets his head up to the rim because he is SIX EIGHT! And there are TONS of NBA players that can do the same. LeBron is NOT special because of his hops. He is nowhere close to having the best hops in the NBA. You must not follow much basketball friend.

As far as long jump. Dunking from the free throw line means nothing. Guess what? If your average 24' state champ was SIX EIGHT I bet he could dunk from the free throw line. NONE of them are so it's a non-starter. Do you really think LeBron is just going to throw down a 25' jump? I've already established that he is unlikely to be faster than your slightly above-average high school sprinter and does not have better hops than high school state champ jumpers. And he weighs 260! Keeping that in mind, I think it is unlikely he gets past 24'.

I'll say it again, but LeBron weighs 260! That is not going to help him in the pole vault at all. He MIGHT be super strong (yet to be determined as it's hard to say how strong he is relative to his weight), but even if he is, it's just not that easy to throw down 14'6". He might be able to, but the numbers make me think otherwise.

I played ball my entire life and could have played at some crap DIII place had I wanted to. I say that just so you don't think I don't know shi! about basketball. LeBron is an amazing basketball player for reasons that don't make him automatically capable of the numbers people are throwing around.

asdfasdf wrote:

He MIGHT be super strong (yet to be determined as it's hard to say how strong he is relative to his weight

bahaha, do you watch basketball? at all?

are you a ritard? This is for you b/c your acting like a 10 yr old kid which you very well may be.

Get off of lebrons d!@$. You are such a homo jumping all over everyones opinions, get a life. Lebron is a great athlete just respect that, and stop speculating what he could do in other sports. It will never happen, you heard it here first. Lebron will never try any of the events in the decathlon. Not even the long jump or high jump.

Having competed in dec's against a 6'5" guy, I can say this: with a year of training, he'd kick ass.

A YEAR! The only events that would be problems would be the hurdles, pole vault, and 1500m.

Hurdles--too technical.

PV--too technical, he's too big/heavy.

1500m--give up. He'd suck no matter what.

Sprints--no problem, with a year of training he'd be competent.

JT/DT/SP--He could concentrate on form, throw 80%, and be credible.

LJ--No problem, he could do well today with zero form.

HJ--With a year of training he could be credible jumping straddle.

I'd take a 1500-pt spread.