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It is often said that NBA players like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook attending track and field events would make for an incredible display.
After all, the NBA is home to some of the fastest athletes in the world. And after years of debating who the NBA’s fastest players are, we’re here to settle the debate once and for all.
We also have some useful tips on how to maximize your own speed and agility, and get closer to what you see on the NBA hardwood (trust us, you can do a lot more than you think).
5. LEBRON JAMES
It’s crazy that LeBron is on this list at 36, but then again, it’s crazy that LeBron is doing this any of the things he’s currently doing at 36.
Especially in the regular season, LeBron does not often reach his top speed because he has mastered the art of saving energy in later years.
But when James goes full throttle he is easily one of the fastest players in the league despite his enormous frame.
4. YES MORANT
The lightning-fast Morant has taken the reins of a Grizzlies team that once played at a famous glacier pace and turned it into a high-speed excitement machine.
You don’t want to get into a foot race with this man.
3. JOHN WALL
John Wall has been in shocking health lately and almost missed two seasons before returning to the pitch this season.
However, when he is healthy, it is almost impossible to catch him in the open ground.
2. RUSSELL WESTBROOK
Westbrook is one of the most explosive athletes this league has ever seen. There’s something about Westbrook’s sudden spurts of speed that really stands out when you watch him play.
1. DE’AARON FOX
Fox, Westbrook, and Wall would have been hard to part with when they were all in their prime, but 23-year-old Fox is the only one with teenagers on his side.
The man is an absolute blur when he turns on the jets.
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR OWN SPEED
There is something about watching freak athletes that naturally makes you emulate them.
Well, as we mentioned earlier, it is possible for the average joe to exceed his wildest expectations with the right approach.
Let’s sum it up …
STRENGTH
According to the renowned strength and conditioning trainer LaRue E. Cook, you cannot begin effective speed work until you have sufficient strength.
“Without it, you might as well try to get a car to 100 mph with a go-cart engine,” Cook said in an article posted on the USA Basketball website.
“We’re not talking about building big muscles here. We’re talking about building strong muscles that can help us create speed. “
He suggests the following:
Strengthening the legs (calves, hamstrings and quads) with exercises such as calf raises, squats, leg curls and extensions.
Strengthening the upper body through exercises such as dumbbell presses (bench press), rows of seats, shoulder raises, biceps curls and triceps extensions.
Strengthening the core muscles (stomach and back) through regular crunches from the floor, stability ball crunches, oblique rotations and back extensions.
ACCELERATION AND SPEED
According to Cook, too much emphasis is often placed on “straight-ahead speed”.
“A fast top speed of 40 meters wouldn’t necessarily make you as effective as if you were maybe a little slower in your 40s, but the speed and explosiveness to go faster on the pitch,” says Cook.
“Most basketball sprints begin in moving or ‘rolling’ positions, not stationary. Hence, part of your training should be spent with this in mind. Perform your speed training from different starting positions, e.g. B. turn and sprint from a back pedal, accelerate from a side shuffle or run off the floor after getting up. “
DELAY
Braking or decelerating is “perhaps the most important skill in basketball speed training,” according to Cook.
“Speed training without delay training is like learning to drive a car very fast without braking,” he says.
The idea here is that a fast player who gets out of control won’t do as well – for example, they may miss a quick break – and are more likely to get injured.
Experts widely believe that two key components to good deceleration are keeping your knees bent or bent and lowering your hips during deceleration, be it sprinting or landing.
EQUIPMENT TO INCREASE SPEED AND AGILITY
WEIGHT RESISTORS
Spalding’s Weighted Resistance Training Aid will help you develop lateral speed and an explosive first step so you can shoot past defenders on game day. It combines resistance bands with removable ankle weights.
STRENGTH CHUTE
Develop muscle endurance and increase speed with the Spalding Strength Chute ™ training aid. It gives you high resistance while running and helps you build your speed, agility and strength.
LATERAL RESISTANCE
The Spalding Lateral Resistor Training Aid increases the strength of the key muscles that help you explode with more force in jumps and rebounds. It is suitable for most athletes and can be worn anywhere you play the game.
