James Harden: deceptively athletic... or potbelly sloth with mad foot skills?

LOL @ people here ripping Harden for having 10% body fat when a healthy range is 8-19%. Do y'all have a clue? Not everyone can get down to 2% body fat based on body type. Harden is probably the strongest guard in the NBA but is not even close to being fat or having a potbelly! Some of you need to test your own body fat percentage to have a reference point!

 

This. Anything 10 or below is great for athlete.

And it clearly doesn't effect his speed or vert

 

i wonder whats shaqs body fat %

 

That explains his TO%!

 

Not a hater, but I wonder what his body fat is today compared to his draft combine tests

 

He basically gave up having a neck for growing that thing

 

My body fat is 1%. Harden, I am disappoint.

 

Where did these number come from?

 

Who honestly gives a ****? lol i mean harden was one of the top performers in the league last season, people just want something to complain about

 

i've seen the cheesecake factory derail careers. freaking addictive as hell, like the oreo cheesecake.

 

also, maybe Harden got slower as he gained weight?

those #s were pre-draft afterall. he def looks chubbier now than before so his speed etc. probalby dropped

 

when you don't dun a lot you don't appear athletic but when he does dunk he skies

 

Of course it's the beard that makes him look unathletic.

 

I think Harden is more Pierce-like than these other guys. Pierce could throw it down on people when he wanted to, but wasn't very explosive.

I think there is some truth to both possibilities in the title though...He is deceptively athletic because he doesn't rely on it, so he can catch people off guard when he does put it out there, but it's not great athleticism, so he still is sloth-like with great foot work, compared to these other athletic freaks.

Sorry, but that's one of the stupidest things I've read on here.

10% body fat is basically just short of seeing a whole six pack. Regardless of who you are and what height, that's not even close to "borderline chubby".

It's not taken very seriously because players are known for not giving it 100%, since teams don't think it's that important. It's probably taken more seriously the last few years, but you still have a lot of guys who don't really max out on it, so it's hard to say what is accurate. I would only believe really low or really high number.

But, like someone else mentioned the guys with long arms will measure lower because it's harder for them. Also, a lot of these guys coming in the league didn't lift because it'll mess with your shot. Again, the last few years they lift at younger ages, but there are still some who are new to it, so even if they are strong, they won't press much because the body needs time to just get the form right.

 

I already made the 'neck' joke.

 

Beard makes him look unathletic and A LOT older.

Glad he doesn't rely on explosive athleticism. He is "deceptively" athletic.

 

Can I say both? Harden is deceptively athletic. He has an old man's game, and with his body type he'll never be Andre Iguodala, and that's okay. In fact, that's more than okay. Relying on skill and strength as opposed to quickness might very well mean Harden will remain effective for a longer period of time than a lot of his peers.

HOWEVER

I still worry about his weight. This isn't the first time people have questioned his weight. From a NYT article back when he was in college:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/sports/ncaabasketball/20harden.html?_r=0

I know from personal experience, it's one thing to get in shape, and a whole other issue to stay in shape. Some of us are just fat kids at heart. Players that let themselves go in the offseason are more likely to get injured, especially if they aren't back in shape by the beginning of the season and are playing into shape. Judging by recent pictures of Harden I'm a little concerned, but there is a lot of time left before October...

 

Also,

If this article and Draft Express are both correct, Harden may be the only player in history to increase body fat AND vertical from college to combine. Usually those two things have an inverse relationship...

 

Depends on the person I guess. Look at how lean a lot of elite NBA guards are, they all look around the 7-10% body fat range to me. Harden was measured at 10.1% at the combine but he looks more around 12% these days which to me is chubby for an NBA guard and athlete, albeit it could just be the way his body looks.

And yes 10.1% is approaching being on the heavier side for many athletes. I've seen instances of soccer players being criticized for getting "fat" when they look around 12-15% body fat at most and the difference between 10-12% is not as significant as 8-10% (I'd call the phenomenon diminishing returns but I know that's obviously not the right phrase in a scientific sense but principally the concept remains the same.)

 

Bench press is just as much nerve development as is muscle development. Your nervous system can get used to benching really heavy without a corresponding increase in actual strength eg joel osteen benching 300 on tv. If Iggy spent 6 months is a gym concentrating on benching, he'd top 300 easy.