REMEMBER THE HEIGHT CONSPIRACY THREAD?

In the old live forum there was an infamous thread where posters debated whether there was a "height conspiracy" in the NBA. Though some were adamant about the NBA listings as being accurate, others were able to sift through the NBA's smoke screen and establish the truth. On the following link is an example of how the NBA can try to hoodwink [ ] us into believing that guys are "larger" than life. The link pertains to Iverson's height and weight and is taken from his upcoming manuscript "Only the strong survive":

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/excerpt/only ... 21120.html

[paragraph 1 is most relevant]

The actual quote is as follows:

He's listed at 6 feet, 165 pounds, but on this May 2001 morning, in the bowels of his team's practice facility, he appeared willowy thin. A buck-fifty and maybe 5-11, tops -- somebody who could easily be mistaken for a rambunctious ballboy, rather than a man who was about to be named the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player.

So there really is a conspiracy, its not just some unfounded X-files episode or something. DO YOU BELIEVE IT.....................

Best,

P

Some Spanish journalists at the World Championships said Ben Wallace and other US National team players were evident smaller than their listed height...

mmm conspiracy!

Last edited by conkeso on Fri Nov 22, 2002 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

Don't Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley, two of the best rebounders of all time, claim that they're shorter than the stats say?

Yeah, Dennis Rodman was listed at 6'8" but was often said to be 6'6". Charles Barkley was listed as anywhere between 6'4.5" and 6'6", most frequently 6'6".

There's actually a reason for the discrepancy. Players are measured in their sneakers for their official listing and half inches are rounded up. If Charles Barkley was 6'4 1/2" in his socks then with the inch for his sneakers (6'5 1/2") and rounding the half-inch up then his 6'6" listing isn't any more inflated than any other NBA player.

If you watched the draft...Jay Williams was 6'1/2" in his socks and thus listed as 6'2"...Carlos Boozer was 6'7 3/4" in his socks and thus 6'9"...so yes, all NBA players are either an inch or an inch-and-a-half shorter than their actual listing. If you want to see that as a conspiracy I guess you can...

Seems the move to point guard hasn't just allowed Scottie Pippen to extend his career - it's allowed him to grow an extra inch. According to the Blazers Roster, Pip is now 6-8, after a career of being listed as 6-7.

And T-Mac is often spoken about by coaches and others as being 6-10

So much for an inch and a half. I personally don't see this as a reliable system and also don't understand the logic in measuring player in sneakers. I mean when have you gone to your physician and been measured with your sneakers on? This is absurd. I mean you don't hear NFL players being measured in cleats and a helmet and their heights and weights are often visibly skewed [e.g., Dough flutie 5'10 (sure)]. If this is indeed the practice of the NBA, as EG suggests, then it should be modified yesterday.

P

Tracy McGrady actually is 6-9 (so says players, coaches, people who seem him standing next to 6-8 Hill and Miller)