When today's fans watch Zion Williamson play they marvel at his abilty to play above the rim, score inside, and dunk on much taller players. Since Zion Williamson has only average NBA height, and his playing weight is 284 lbs, many analysts consider him an anomoly.
On the other hand, those that have seen Charles Barkley play say that Zion is a "copy" just like Kobe Bryant was a "copy" of Michael Jordan. They also go a step further and say "Although both are great copies, they do not really compare to the originals."
Both Zion Williamson and Charles Barkley are quick to dunk on someone, often much taller, as soon as they get a glimpse of daylight. Also, they both shoot a very high percentage from the field. Therefore, dunk stats and shooting efficiency cannot be used to differential the two. I decided to go back to the basics, and use the. vertical jump tests results.
When I checked Charles Barkley had recorded a 39" verical at the NBA rookie combine. For the record, in tvat sane combine Michael Jordan recorded a 42" vertical, NOT the 48" nonsense floating on the internet. Zion Williamson, on the other hand, had recorded an amazing 45" vertical at a Duke preseason workout before his freshman year began. According to this initial research Zion Williamson jumped higher than both Barkley and Jordan!!!
I was shocked and amazed because I have seen them all play at the same ages, and Zion Williamson did not look like he was in the same "rare air" as the former Dream Teamers. I had seen Charles Barkley, a 6'4" +300 lb, dunk on everyone willing to stand in his way. I also saw a slimmed down Barkley (250 lbs) snatch shots out of the air like he was Wilt Chamberlain for over a decade. I felt compelled to see the Duke video for confirmation. That is when I realized that I was not tripping, and my eyes had not deceived me.
When Charles Barkley (and Michael Jordan) were tested they stood flat footed then leaped into the air. When Zion Williamson was tested, he had a running start. He also used the penultimate step, and arm swing momentum to perfection to reach the 45" mark. This is MUCH EASIER, which means the results are skewed.
Furthermore, Charles "Round Mound of Rebound" Barkley was the player that took the initial vertical jump test. For those that do not know, when Charles Barkley went to training camp Moses Malone told him to his face, "You are fat and lazy. Get in shape." Moses challenged Charles, and Barkley lost over 50 lbs. because he respected the future Hall of Famer, and because Moses was right. Barkley has stated this on several occasions.
Therefore, common sense and basic math allows me to say that Charles Barkley was more explosive and a greater leaper than Zion Williamson. When he recorded his flat footed 39" vertical it was equivalent to the HOF Charles Barkley jumping with a 60lb.weight vest on. Furthermore, in order to make things equal Zion would have had to put on a 25 lb weight vest, and then take the vertical jump test flat footed. If he did, then his results would be SIGNIFICANTLY lower. Zion Williamson got hurt, became fat, and the Pelicans kept him out for the whole season with instructions to LOSE WEIGHT, and to get his "bounce" back. Enough said.
* Playing above the rim can be a reality no matter what a tour size. You just have to use the techniques and workouts elite jump athletes and professional dunkers utilize. For this detailed information click the link below.
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