NBA - Main

His weight

Let me answer your question with an equivalent question: when a 300lb boulder is coming straight for your lunch at 10mph, do you prefer to stand in the way of that, or would you say eh I can make another lunch and step out of the way

His first bump throws the defender off balance cause of how strong he is and he has good touch around the rim. Only time I see him struggle is when he goes up and a help defender challenges him at the rim but in general he's almost unstoppable driving to the basket

For such a big guy he's insanely lithe and light on his feet. Definitely reminds me of kyrie if kyrie was a Mack truck.

He has great bend almost like a defensive end how they are able to get low and bend to turn the corner all while moving incredibly quick for that size. Then he explodes up and into anyone in the way. His size allows him to absorb that contact and continue up and forward and then his touch to get the ball softly to the rim. Then if his first shot misses his second bounce and hand strength is crazy so he is able to grab his own rebound and put it in.

Besides his physical attribute, he has a signature move that's incredibly hard to defend. When approaching for a layup, we traditionally take the two steps to take off with the leg opposite to our shooting hand. The best for balance, tried-and-true, we all know it. Zion frequently does the lightning fast one-step takeoff though with the same-side foot that allows him to slash right by the defender. It's a common move but Zion has mastered it like nobody else because of his insane touch after the explosive jump. Dude takes off like DRose but finishes like George Gervin.

Hmm I wonder what it is 🤔

What makes Steph's shooting and space making unstoppable?

Crazy body control for his weight & combine that with being a literal wrecking ball

Size, speed, and good touch. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about his first step being really fast so he gets in front of the defender. He’s massive so you bounce off of him and he has the ability to have a smooth finish at the end

He built like a Toyota RAV4 that can jump.

Him charging and not getting called

The only thing that can stop him is gravity.

Young Barkley was like this to a lesser degree. The thickness creates space and helps with balance after contact.

To my untrained eye, he seems to jump early. Like he's driving and then suddenly he jumps so high, long hang time, and good body control.

Hes Charles Barkley sprinkled in with some Drose

his drive is unstoppable because he's too explosive when he gets around his man. it's not just that he's fast in a straight line, he gets his shoulder really low to the ground, turns the corner/splits defenders and launches himself toward the hoop.

then he doesn't have to dunk to score...ever. he never needs to dunk in traffic because he has absurd shooting touch right outside the restricted area. he's Jokic-like in this range.

6’6 285 with elite explosiveness & a soft touch

He is abusing our brains perception trick. Most of our brains can’t comprehend in a very fast time on the field that a big man can move and drive like a Derrick Rose. By the time the brain realizes it, it’s too late. I bet in a few years when everyone is conditioned to see it, his drive will be less effective.

Built like a bowling ball but most importantly he’s left handed. There’s tons of guys who’ve come out and said that playing against left handed people is weird. They take different driving angles than what you’re used to and it can throw you off your rhythm.

I think an insanely underrated aspect is his handle and footwork. If you see how low he gets on his drives and then explodes up, it makes so much more sense why he's unguardable. His technique and body controlled, combined with his unparalleled strength gives us the big man equivalent of a Steph corner three.

Zion my genuinely be one of the 2 best finishers in basketball

He’s a F350 that moves like a Porsche.

The refs

Backshots

You ever just been walking down the street and a stray vending machine rolls into you?

Hard to move a mountain

It’s the strength, the amount of contact you have to get through to get to the rim in high level competition is intense.

Everyone has touch around the rim in the NBA, not everyone has his strength.

He's 300 lbs with a 40 inch vertical, bro

he’s humongous

He’s explosive and massive. Fast twitch muscle fibres.

Everything he does is faster. It’s like seeing a professional sprinter run with a normal person sprinting.

NBA players are athletic but something with Zion, especially his lower body is just a quick twitch muscle explosion.

It may be as simple as him having SO much experience playing Shaq ball down low as the biggest kid on the court most of his life that it translated to the NBA. I mean sure the size gap is extremely lower than it was in say high school for him, but with his size and bulk he's still a mismatch for most people and he truly is a savant at using his body weight and quickness simultaneously to create.

F = m x v

280 lbs multiplied by insane speed equals a freaking nightmare for defenders.

Every NBA player (including Zion) has certain basketball skills that are at such an elite level, very few non-professionals can replicate them.

But what truly separates NBA players (and increasingly more top players in other professional men's basketball leagues around the world) are unique physical advantages.

Have you ever seen a clearly overweight man that is not only great at dancing, but also tremendous at backflips? We all have. For whatever reason (metabolism, a psychological block), they can't lose the weight, but still have the mental make-up and drive of a bouncy, athletic, gymnast.

That's Zion in a nutshell.

He has a unique combination of strength, speed, mass, hops, balance, endurance, and agility that allows him to play an explosive brand of bully ball that makes other NBA giants feel small.

Other players with a "unique physicality" include Wilt, Jordan, Barkley, Rodman, Ben Wallace, Shaq, LeBron, Rondo, Griffin, Kawhi, and Giannis.

It's not about being tall, or weighing a lot, but being able to throw your weight around or maximize your physical traits.

If you've ever played even street pick-up ball, you'll know that some dudes have really big hands, or are very strong despite being very skinny, or are short but get every rebound.

hes so fat

idk why can't a cotton ball stop a freight train?

Exceptionally quick for his size, including his first step. Because he’s so big, he just needs to get a bit of a step on guys and then his big body ensures they can’t get a good challenge or block. He also has a nice touch around the rim and is a hell of an athlete. The left handedness also helps a bit I think.