Is Being 7 Feet Tall The Fastest Way To Get Rich In Amervintage patagonia snap tica
Every year, I watch the NBA Draft and its parabanco patagonia homebankingde of young men who appear to have won the genetic lottery, or at least a sweepstakes for overactive pituitaries. And every year, I come away with the same conclusion: Thanks to pro basketball, being 7 feet tall is the world s shortest path to becoming a millionaire.
These newest, lankiest pro players have worked patagonia backpack yerba reviewhard to develop elite basketball skills, of course. But they ve also benefited from a yearbanco patagonia homebanking0s long, worldwide search to identify and maximize talent unlike any other industry.
And as a result, a disproportionate number of the planet s tallest men already work in the NBA, with players like Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, and Cody Zeller poised to join them tonight.
The extraordinary advantage of being 7 feet tall
Drawing on Centers for Disease Control data, Sports Illustrated s Pablo Torre estimated that no more than 70 American men are between the ages of 20 and 40 and at least 7 feet tall. While the probability of, say, an American betbanco patagonia homebanking2ween 6 6 and 6 8 being an NBA player today stands at a mere 0.07%, it s a staggering 17% for someone 7 feet or taller, Torre writes. Even accounting for the typical 1 inch inflation in players listed heights would still mean that 15 true 7 footers made it to the NBA, out of Torre s hypothetical pool of about 70 men.)
Many 7 footers also profit by getting into basketball relatively early. While scouts canvas the globe for super sized warm bodies I ll check up on anyone over 7 feet that s breathing, NBA scouting director Ryan Blake told Torre in 2011 they usually haven t slipped through the cracks. In a nation like China or Gepatagonia men&s quilt again vest reviewrmany, a 10 year old who shows extreme growth potential will be recruited into a national basketball academy; in the United States, clumsy young giants are often funneled into the sport thanks to some variation on the following conversation: Do you play basketball? If not, you should.
There s a womens patagonia peak sneak shoes size 9 med new in the boxclear reason why extreme height is so prized in basketball: At worst, it s still an unteachable asset. Even a relatively unskilled 7 footer can simply stand near a basket and alter an opponent s shots just by his presence.
And given the market need for players who can protect the rim, there are extra rewards for this extra height. The league s median player last season was 6 feet 7 inches tall, and paid about $2.5 million for his service. But consider the rarified air of the 7 footer and up club. The average salary of those 35 patagonia discount code lifetouchNBA players: $6.1 million.
(How much does one more inch matter? The 39 players listed at 6 feet 11 inches were paid an average of $4.9 million, or about 20% less than the 7 footers.)
And once a 7 footer has made it to the league, his height offers tremendous job security the basketball equivalent of tenure. A tattered reputation didn t sbanco patagonia homebanking3top Eddy Curry (more than $70 million in career earnings) or Jerome James ($44 million) from getting hupatagonia everlong review toshibage, multi year contracts. A lack of skill didn t stop Ryan Hollins ($10 million in career earnings) or Keith Closs ($6.2 million) from carving out a lucrative niche as backups.
Extreme height also induces teams to take flyers on marginal players who would otherwise never warrant a second look. Back in the 1990s, 7 foot 1 Matt Wenstrom, who averaged 1.6 points per game in his collepatagonia guide jacket magazinege careerbanco patagonia homebanking1 at North Carolina, somehow played two seasons in the NBA which was two seasons more than Donald Willipatagonia guide jacket 2005ams, who was Wenstrom s college teammate and the most outstanding player of the 1993 NCAA Final Four.
Even though NBA teams are starting to get a little smaller, with the rise of non traditional lineups often used by the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA Draft is paradoxically expected to grow a bit bigger this year. At least seven players who are listed at 7 fpatagonia hiking shoes new yorkeet or taller are projected as first round selections on Thursday night, which would break a five year old record.
