The modern NBA is a pace-driven league in many ways. Teams rely on ball movement and elite floor-spacing and movement to create open looks for their shooters, especially from behind the three-point line. The era of big men working in the post seems long gone and the improved athleticism of players thanks to modern nutrition and sports science is a contributing factor to the ever-increasing speed of the game.
However, being able to control the pace of the game is an extremely underappreciated skill, and there is also still a place for skilled big men in the game. The NBA’s Draft Combine may not be as big a deal as the NFL’s, for example, but it’s still a good benchmark to gauge the attributes of new players coming into the league.
And based on those results, HoopsHype came up with a list of the slowest players in the NBA, based on their results at their draft combines, and the results will perhaps surprise some NBA fans.
The slowest player in the league per his score in the combine is Rudy Gobert, with his lane agility time of 12.85 seconds and three-quarter sprint speed of 3.57 seconds being the lowest of any player currently in the league. Brook Lopez is in 2nd, marginally faster than Gobert in the first category but with the same, exact time in terms of the three-quarter sprint.
The real surprise in 3rd place on this list is Kevin Durant, whose Combine speed scores were worse than big men like DeAndre Jordan and Tyson Chandler. Even Al Horford, who currently finds himself in the NBA Finals, had a faster time than Durant in these drills during his attempt.
Now, KD’s elite shooting and ability to get his shot off over anyone is all he needs to be one of the greatest players of all time, regardless of speed. KD is one of a kind, just ask Draymond Green. And he may have gotten more agile throughout his career as well, the combine was, of course, years ago. But despite the game being so fast now, the fact that arguably the best player in the world right now is also one of the slowest is interesting, to say the least.
