Why is it that NBA players such as Tracy McGrady weigh 210 pounds at 6'8?!?!?

Question

I weigh 190 and I'm only 5'9. Am I overweight by basketball standards? Also is this the reason why so many basketball players get off the ground so high when it comes to jumping and dunking? Because they're light as a feather. I remember when I was 148 I was getting up easily, now that I have all this hard to lose muscle I've attained over the years. It's hard to jump higher. Is this the reason why they jump so high because they have a strict diet, and cardio exercise that they follow consistently? I'm seriously wondering if I lost the 30 pounds I would be able to gain about 6 inches of vertical jumping ability?

Answer 1

yeah your overweight. he's about a little underweight.

Answer 2

A couple things:
First, Barry Sanders was also about 5'9 190 and he had a 40 inch vertical. Nate Robinson won the dunk contest and he has a similar build. If your weight is mostly muscle as you say it shouldn't be impacting your hops that much. Some people can jump high and some can't. There's a reason why money is thrown at athletes like the ones I just mentioned: that kind of athletic ability is very rare.

Second, there are 3 main body types that people fall into: ectomorphic - skinny, not very muscular, hard to put on weight, endomorphic - chubby to fat, difficult to lose and keep off fat, and mesomorphic - naturally muscular, gains muscle relatively easily. You can have elements of 2 or 3 of these in one body, but one will usually predominate. Sounds to me like you are mesomorphic. McGrady, like most ballers, is mainly ecto. You are fighting your natural body type if you try to get an ectomorphic body.

Relax, be your naturally buff self, and enjoy basketball on the ground like the rest of us mortals.

Answer 3

nba.com has him at 223 but a few pounds don't make much of a difference I mean LeBron is just as tall and weighs in at a good 240 and some announcers even think he's closer to 260 and he still gets up plenty high.

It's not how much you weigh it's what kind of weight you have. If you have the right kind of leg muscles you don't want to lose that however if you can lose unnecessary fat and limit the rest of your weight while maintaining your strength you are going to increase your vertical just by having the same amount of muscle but lifting less weight

It's not so much the weight for instance manute bol wasn't a highflier at 7 foot 7 but he was only about the same weight as mcgrady.

I am 5 foot 11 and range from 190-200 pounds and have over a 40 inch vertical (about 43 last I checked) Lean muscle is better than bulky muscle though in terms of athleticism and coordination

Answer 4

the thing about it is they have at least 82 games without playoffs and hundreds of practices where they run all the time and most of them probably eat health. i dont think your weight is what would help your verticle, all of them are over 6ft, McGrady is 6'8'' and they lift and work out a certain way. I guess what you could say is you can be in great shape, with alot of muscle but not be in basketball shape, thats the reason they are so small and can jump so high and be that atheletic is because they are in the right shape for the type of sport they play.

Answer 5

You are talking about people who jump and hustle for a living. You can't expect them to be blown-up. They probably lose a thousand calories every game. They sweat a bucket every game, and that is almost every night. These are professionals. Even if they are not playing, they are obligated to go to the team gym and work out. What do you expect of these people? They are fit. It's their job.
Regarding your question in order to gain vertical leping inches, try working on your calves. It will help you gain serious inches. Follow the links below, they are some programs that might help you.

Answer 6

The Rockets will miss the playoffs. Trevor Ariza will fail, Yao Ming is out for the season, they lost Ron Artest, and Tracy McGrady is out for half the season. Look for Shane Battier,Luis Scola,and Aaron Brooks to lead the team to a decent record.

Answer 7

Race has nothing to do with how high you jump. Weight has some to do with it, the more weight you have on you, the stronger you'll need to jump. I don't think B-ball players have a strict diet...if they have any. they just continue to excerzise and work on the leg and calf musceles alot

Answer 8

He was probably 210 when he came into the NBA and they have never bothered to change his vitals in the player profile. At 6'8" you'd be pretty damn skinny at 210, McGrady doesn't look skinny on TV - never seen him live.

Of course if I played 88 games of professional bball + practice (yea were talking about practice) I'd be pretty svelte myself.

Answer 9

hey just because black does not mean anything (first answer)

people joking that way because theres not that many white players

well those black players practiced thats why there up there in the NBA

I have no offense against black people but your proably saying that because your not that good

sorry that was off topic I just got mad at first answer

Most likly yes its your wieght thats carrying you down

Answer 10

FIRST OFF, DUDE PLAYS PRO BASKETBALL, HE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PLAY AND BE ABLE TO MOVE FAST SO HE HAS TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE, WHEN YOU,RE THAT ACTIVE, U DONT HAVE TIME TO GAIN WEIGHT, U HAVE TO STAY IN SHAPE DURING THE OFF SEASON. U DONT HAVE TO BE SMALL TO JUMP HIGH, ITS ALL IN THE CALF, IM 6'6 220 AND CAN JUMP VERY HIGH. I RECOMEND CALF RAISES(HUNDREDS PER DAY) AND JUMP ROPING FOR ATLEAST 15 MINUTES TWICE PER DAY

Answer 11

i think he is 210 lbs b/c he lift weight alot, and alot of push up and sit ups.