As long as you work hard enough, ordinary people can play in the NBA? After seeing these 5 photos, you may not think so.

"As long as you work hard, endure hardships and discipline yourself, ordinary people can also play professional basketball and even enter the NBA" - such a voice is not uncommon. People are always willing to believe that "working hard can overcome everything" and feel that the success of professional players is just a bit more sweat than ordinary people. But the fact is that as the league with the highest basketball level in the world, the NBA has never gathered "ordinary people who work hard" but "a talented monster that can be selected from thousands of people". Here, hard work may make stars better, but it will never allow ordinary people to cross the "talent gap". If you still firmly believe that "ordinary people can play in the NBA", then you might as well take a look at these 5 photos, which will use the most intuitive comparison to tell you what "absolute talent" is and what "out of reach".

1. Curry airborne the field: When "NBA ordinary body shape" meets ordinary people, defense is useless

When it comes to Stephen Curry, fans always think of his three-pointer first, but few people associate him with "physical talent explosion". In the NBA, Curry's defense has always been criticized for being "very average" - his height of 1.91 meters and a weight of 84 kilograms make him often the target of his opponent when facing a strong defender. In the playoffs, the scene of him being eaten by stars such as James and Antetokounmpo also made many people feel that "Curry's physical talent can only be considered downstream in the NBA."

But when Curry aired onto the field, the scene in the photo subverted the "ordinary cognition": he, who was originally "the physical static talent is average" in the NBA, became "O'Neal-level dominance" in front of ordinary people - whether it was the first step of starting speed during breakthrough or the shooting height and rhythm of shooting, the defenders on the field were completely unable to keep up; even if his "unfavorable" physical confrontation in the NBA, he became a "dimensional reduction strike" when he went to the field, and he could easily carry the defenders to complete the layup.

The cruelest thing about this photo is that Curry's "relatively mediocre" body shape and athletic ability in the NBA is already "ceiling level" in the world of ordinary people. The defensive skills and breakthrough speed that ordinary people practice with all their strength cannot even be considered "interference" in the face of Curry's "basic talent". What you think is "you can catch up with it by working hard", but in fact, you lose from the beginning at the "starting point of physical talent" - Curry's reaction speed, hand-eye coordination ability, and muscle memory are all natural basketball genes, which cannot be achieved by practicing for 2 hours a day.

2. Durant's "giant palm": 1.9 meters of fans' palms, in front of him, like a baby's hand

Kevin Durant is like a god of death on the offensive end, but his physical strength is definitely below the middle level of the league. Fans are always worried that Durant's thin body was knocked apart when confronting some beast strikers in the league. However, in addition to being "a height of 2.11 meters but being able to dribble like a defender", Durant's "giant palm" is also a recognized "body killer" in the league. Anyone who has watched Durant’s game knows that he can easily grab the ball with one hand to complete fake moves, can steadily control the ball when breaking through, and can even cut off the opponent’s pass with one hand on the defensive end. Behind these moves, he is inseparable from his palm size that is far beyond ordinary people.

And the comparison photo of the fan putting his hand under Durant's palm print made the "talent gap" vividly: when the fan stretched out his palm to compare with Durant's palm print, the gap instantly appeared - Durant's palm not only had a length far exceeding the fans, but also completely "wrapped" the fans' palms. The fan's palms were in front of him, as petite as a baby's hand. Some netizens joked: "This is not a palm comparison, it is simply the gap between adults and kindergarten children."

For basketball players, the size of the palm directly affects the stability of the ball control, the feel of the shooting and the ability to intercept the ball. Most of the palms of ordinary people are 18-20 cm long, while Durant's palms are more than 24 cm long and are even closer to 13 cm wide - this size allows him to easily complete the "one-handed ball change" and "finger-tip shots" that ordinary people cannot do. You can practice stable shooting through hard work, but you can never practice "natural giant palms"; you can maintain your body shape by relying on self-discipline, but you cannot change the natural size of the palm bones. This is the "irreversibility" of talent, and it is also the first gap between ordinary people and NBA players.

3. Iverson's Achilles tendon: 1.83 meters tall, but 25 cm "Achilles tendon ceiling"

Allen Iverson was elected No. 1 NBA pick at 1.83 meters tall, because he never relied on "working to make up for his height", but "apart from his height, he was all top talent." His speed, explosive power, and change direction are unique in NBA history, and the core of all this is hidden in his "far beyond ordinary people's Achilles tendon".

There is a photo that has been talked about by fans so far: Iverson stands with Lamar Odom, who is 2.08 meters tall, and the two of them reveal their calves at the same time - surprisingly, Iverson, who is 25 cm shorter than Odom, but his Achilles tendon length is longer than Odom. It is estimated that Iverson's Achilles tendon is at least 25 cm long, while the Achilles tendon length of ordinary people is mostly 15-18 cm. Even for other NBA guards, very few Achilles tendon lengths can exceed 22 cm.

Achilles tendon is called "athletes' spring", and its length directly determines the upper limit of explosive force and speed. Iverson can easily complete the "continuous change of direction and pass the entire defensive lineup" in the game. He can beat the defender in one step in the fast break, relying on the "super explosive power" brought by the 25-centimeter Achilles tendon.. Even if ordinary people practice sprinting for 10 hours a day, the length of the Achilles tendon will not increase by 1 cm; even if they practice the direction change skills to the extreme, they will not be able to have the "first step speed" like Iverson. This photo tells us: Iverson's success is not "a short man counterattacks by hard work", but "a short man has the top Achilles tendon talent" - with such talent, ordinary people do not even have the qualification to "envy".

4. Rondo's wingspan: 1.85 meters tall, but has a "front-level wingspan" of 2.06 meters

Rajon Rondo has never been famous for his "scoring ability", but he has been able to establish himself in the NBA for 16 years and has become a "field control master", relying on his wingspan that "violates the law of height". A height of 1.85 meters can only be considered a "small man" among NBA guards, but Rondo's wingspan reaches an exaggerated 2.06 meters - Such an arm span is better than many forward players (for example, James, who is 2.01 meters tall, has an arm span of "only" 2.14 meters, and the gap is far less than that of Rondo).

The photo of Rondo grabbing rebounds in the game perfectly interprets "I am not tall enough, so I can get the wingspan": Facing an opponent who is 2.03 meters tall, Rondo jumped up, but his arms were longer than his opponent, and he easily put the rebounds in his arms. It is precisely because of this amazing arm span that Rondo's rebounding ability in the defender position is "historical" - he averaged 4.5 rebounds per game in his career, and he averaged 6.7 rebounds per game in his peak season. He also grabbed 10+ rebounds in the game many times, and was teased by fans as "Long Center".

For basketball players, the wingspan directly affects the defensive coverage, rebounding ability and passing vision. Most ordinary people have a wingspan that is close to their height (the error is no more than 5 cm), while Rondo's wingspan is 21 cm more than his height, which is a natural "body proportional advantage". You can practice rebounding skills by hard work, but you can't change your wingspan length; you can improve your defensive awareness by relying on self-discipline, but you can't have the "defensive coverage area" like Rondo. The wingspan gap in this photo is essentially the gap in "natural body structure" - no matter how hard an ordinary person works, he cannot extend the wingspan of 1.85 meters to 2.06 meters.

5. O'Neal and Dwayne Johnson: When a "Hollywood tough guy" meets an NBA "body monster"

If the first four photos are not enough to make you give up the fantasy of "ordinary people can play the NBA", then the photo of O'Neal and Dwayne Johnson will definitely make you realize the reality. In the eyes of ordinary people, Dwayne Johnson is a "tough guy ceiling" - a height of 1.9 meters, a body with sharp edges and angular tendons, which can easily "fight ten" in Hollywood movies, but when he stood beside O'Neal, the picture in the photo was full of "contrast": Johnson instantly changed from "tough guy" to "bird-dependent". O'Neal's body width and thickness were almost 1.5 times that of Johnson, and even his arm circumference was thicker than Johnson.

O'Neal's body talent is "unique" in NBA history - a height of 2.16 meters, weighing more than 325 pounds (about 147 kg) at his peak, but he has the speed and explosiveness that is not inferior to the defender. He can easily play "bulldozer-style" back at the basket and complete a tomahawk dunk in fast breaks because of this "crushing body talent". Even if ordinary people spend time in the gym like Johnson every day, they cannot practice O'Neal's "body dimension" - because the bone frame and muscle fiber density are all born and cannot be changed by lifting iron. The cruelest thing about this photo is that Johnson is already the "leading physical talent" among ordinary people, but he seems so "small" in front of O'Neal. In the NBA, O'Neal was also "limited" by inside players such as Olajuwon and Duncan - which means that the "body threshold" of the NBA is much higher than ordinary people imagine. If you can't even reach Johnson's body, how can you achieve an "NBA-level body" like O'Neal and Olajuwon?

After seeing these 5 photos, you may understand: Why it is said that "ordinary people can never play in the NBA." These gaps are not the ability to "get hard" but the "natural basketball gene". The NBA has never been a "a arena for hardworking people", but a "stage for talented people". Working hard can make talented players better, but it can never allow ordinary people to have "giant palms", "long Achilles tendons" and "long arm spans" - these are the gaps that have been destined since birth and are the "gaps that cannot be filled in hard work." So, stop believing in the fantasy of “ordinary people can play in the NBA”.