http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=CombineResults-080603&univLogin02=stateChangedWhile the height and weight measurements from the NBA pre-draft camp are interesting and relevant, NBA GMs and scouts also spend a lot of time dissecting the results of the NBA physical combine.
For the fifth straight year, Insider has obtained this confidential report from a league source.
Everyone should take these numbers with a grain of salt. No one gets drafted solely on their test scores. But teams do take these reports seriously. Most scouting departments believe that there are minimum athletic hurdles that players need to clear to show that they can be successful in the NBA. While the "best athlete in the draft" has never been the best player in the draft, this is the first objective testing that we have on the top prospects.
What are the drills?
Players are asked to bench press 185 pounds as many times as they can, test their vertical jump in two ways (no step and maximum) and run several drills to measure speed and lateral quickness.
For the first time in years, the NBA didn't create a composite score to rank the top athletes in the draft, so we'll break it down for you by category.
Georgetown's Patrick Ewing Jr. shocked everyone by recording the biggest maximum vertical with a whopping 42 inches. Five other players jumped 40 or more inches in the maximum vertical jump: O.J. Mayo (41), Bryce Taylor (41), Eric Gordon (40), Derrick Rose (40) and Deron Washington (40). Jiri Hubalek (26) and Brian Butch (26.5) had the two worst scores in the camp.
Xavier's Josh Duncan and West Virginia's Joe Alexander tested as the strongest athletes in the camp. Duncan bench pressed 185 pounds 26 times and Alexander did 24 reps. Three other players got the bar up 20 or more times: Takais Brown (22), Stanley Burrell (21), and DeVon Hardin (20). A number of players tied for the worst (two reps) including D.J. Augustin, Keith Brumbaugh, Ewing, Donte Greene, Davon Jefferson and Mike Taylor.
In the lane-agility test, Duke's DeMarcus Nelson had the best score, finishing the drill in 10.54 seconds. Arkansas' Sonny Weems was second at 10.58 seconds. Stanford's Brook Lopez finished dead last with a score of 12.77 seconds.
In the three-quarter court sprints, Weems led the way with a blinding 2.96-second run. Joe Alexander was second at 2.99 and Eric Gordon was third at 3.01. Those three scores, based on our available data from the last five years, are the fastest times ever run at the combine. Derrick Rose (3.05) and Brian Roberts (3.05) tied for fourth. Brook Lopez was last at 3.57.
Here's a look at how some players in the draft performed in every category:
Combine Results
Player Vertical Jump (no step) Vertical Jump (max) Bench press Lane agility 3/4 court sprint
Joe Alexander 32.5 38.5 24 11.33 2.99
Darrell Arthur 28.5 30.0 12 12.18 3.14
D.J. Augustin 28.5 35.0 2 11.27 3.07
Jerryd Bayless 31.0 38.0 10 11.26 3.07
Michael Beasley 30.0 35.0 19 11.06 3.24
Ramel Bradley 24.5 29.5 9 10.68 3.24
Tyrone Brazelton 30.0 34.0 8 11.59 3.25
Takais Brown 29.0 31.0 22 12.47 3.25
Keith Brumbaugh 26.0 27.0 2 11.65 3.28
Stanley Burrell 29.5 34.5 21 11.19 3.19
Brian Butch 24.0 26.5 9 11.87 3.52
Jamar Butler N/A N/A 15 N/A N/A
Pat Calathes N/A N/A 7 N/A N/A
Joe Crawford 31.0 36.0 13 11.67 3.22
Chris Daniels 26.0 28.5 11 12.72 3.56
Joey Dorsey 27.5 33.0 19 11.84 3.2
Marcus Dove 27.5 33.5 10 11.59 3.26
Josh Duncan 28.0 32.0 26 12.47 3.26
Frank Elegar 33.5 37.5 11 11.86 3.17
Wayne Ellington 28.0 34.0 7 12.05 3.2
Patrick Ewing 35.0 42.0 2 11.77 3.43
Gary Forbes 27.5 33.5 13 11.45 3.25
Shan Foster 30.0 33.0 10 12.3 3.24
J.R. Giddens N/A N/A 10 N/A N/A
James Gist 30.5 35.0 5 11.37 3.14
Vladimir Gulubovic 21.5 27.0 15 12.4 3.33
Eric Gordon 32.0 40.0 15 10.81 3.01
Kentrell Gransberry 24.5 27.5 18 12.16 3.32
Danny Green N/A N/A 14 N/A N/A
Donte Greene 27.5 31.5 2 11.21 3.2
Malik Hairston 30.5 38.0 13 11.33 3.08
Devon Hardin 29.5 32.0 20 11.49 3.33
Richard Hendrix 26.5 28.0 13 10.62 3.27
George Hill 34.0 37.5 9 12.2 3.07
Kyle Hines 28.5 33.0 16 12.17 3.4
Jiri Hubalek 20.5 26.0 2 12.26 3.54
Lester Hudson 30.5 36.0 12 11.15 3.16
Othello Hunter 28.0 34.5 7 11.51 3.18
Darnell Jackson 27.0 31.0 11 11.75 3.26
Shawn James N/A N/A 6 N/A N/A
Davon Jefferson 27.0 32.0 2 12.02 3.36
Joseph Jones 25.5 31.0 16 11.61 3.33
DeAndre Jordan 26.0 30.5 8 12.3 3.27
Sasha Kaun 29.0 32.0 13 12.06 3.2
Marcelus Kemp 26.0 30.0 9 11.79 3.39
Ty Lawson 28.5 35.5 14 N/A N/A
Maarty Leunen 29.5 34.5 14 11.57 3.36
Longar Longar N/A N/A 14 N/A N/A
Brook Lopez 27.5 30.5 7 12.77 3.57
Kevin Love 29.5 35.0 18 11.17 3.22
Aleks Maric 23.0 28.0 15 11.76 3.35
O.J. Mayo 30.5 41.0 7 11.04 3.14
James Mays 29.5 35.0 13 11.23 3.19
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 32.0 38.5 11 11.71 3.17
JaVale McGee 27.0 32.5 7 12.75 3.25
Drew Neitzel 25.5 32.0 10 11.19 3.2
DeMarcus Nelson 34.5 38.5 19 10.54 3.13
David Padgett 24.0 28.0 17 12.45 3.45
Jeremy Pargo 32.0 37.0 7 10.65 3.07
Trent Plaisted 30.5 35.5 14 11.32 3.17
Quan Prowell 32.0 36.0 16 11.79 3.14
Shaun Pruitt 27.0 32.5 10 11.3 3.4
Anthony Randolph 29.0 35.0 7 11.86 3.26
Charles Rhodes 26.5 33.5 14 11.51 3.13
John Riek N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Brian Roberts 31.5 36.5 10 10.65 3.05
Russell Robinson 25.0 31.5 8 11.3 3.15
Richard Roby N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Derrick Rose 34.5 40.0 10 11.69 3.05
Sean Singletary 26.0 N/A 18 N/A N/A
Ronald Steele 25.0 29.5 5 11.08 3.26
Bryce Taylor 34.5 41.0 16 11.08 3.19
Mike Taylor 31.0 39.0 2 10.98 3.08
Mark Tyndale 27.0 33.5 5 12.52 3.14
Robert Vaden 26.0 29.5 10 11.97 3.4
Deron Washington 34.0 40.0 7 11.03 3.09
Sonny Weems 29.0 36.5 12 10.58 2.96
Russell Westbrook 30.0 36.5 12 10.98 3.08
Reggie Williams 31.5 36.5 15 11.32 3.07
The Good
• Among the top players in the draft, the big winner was Joe Alexander, who tested off the charts in just about every category except agility. He's been saying that he's the best athlete in the draft and it's hard to argue with the scores he put up here.
• If Alexander was the most athletic big man in the draft, Eric Gordon was the most athletic guard. He was near the top in every category from vertical jump (40 inches) to 3/4-court sprint (3.01 sec) to lane agility (10.81 seconds) to bench pressing (15 reps). Those are all great scores.
We've been comparing Eric Gordon to Ben Gordon this year and, when you look at the numbers, he outperformed the Bulls guard in every area athletically and he also measured slightly bigger. That bodes well for the "better version of Ben Gordon" comparisons.
• As we reported earlier, Kevin Love tested better than you'd think in just about every category. He is by no means a great athlete, but he's not a bad one either. When you factor in that he still has 12 percent body fat, one would expect him to get even quicker and more explosive once he drops a few more pounds in preparation for the draft.
• O.J. Mayo also will be helped by this report. A few teams I spoke with were shocked that he recorded a 41-inch vertical, which was higher than Rose's. Mayo wasn't considered an elite athlete, but he out-tested Rose on some key measures like vertical jump and lane agility and was very close to him on his three-quarter court sprint.
• Michael Beasley came out looking pretty good, too. His 35-inch vertical and good times in the speed events should quiet concerns about his athleticism.
The Bad
• Brook Lopez really struggled in all of the athletic drills. He's huge (his wingspan measured out at 7-foot-5 ½), but NBA teams are shying away from the more-lumbering big men. He wasn't awful during the testing, but many thought he'd do a little better.
• DeAndre Jordan also didn't fare nearly as well as teams would've expected. He's been labled as a Dwight Howard-type athlete, but he didn't put up anything close to the numbers Howard put up a few years ago.
• Donte Greene and Darrell Arthur -- two guys touted for their athleticism -- disappointed many with their poor vertical-jump scores. Arthur also fared very poorly in the lane-agility drill.
• JaVale McGee didn't light up the drills either for someone touted as a great athlete for a player his size. He looked a little out of shape in the workouts, which can't help his cause.
The Rest
• Arkansas' Sonny Weems played well enough during the camp to get on teams' radars. But his very strong combine numbers should get him serious consideration for a possible second-round pick. Weems' speed scores were off the charts for a swingman. He recorded the fastest sprint score we've ever seen and led the camp in lane-agility drills. Considering that he also measured well, he looks like a much better prospect than we thought.
• Oregon's Malik Hairston tested as a much better athlete than anticipated. His vertical jump, lane agility, sprint and strength numbers were all near the top. That could bode very well for him as he fights to make the second-round cut. His teammate Bryce Taylor also tested well.
• BYU's Trent Plaisted's didn't score high in the measurements department, but athletically, his numbers put him on par with Michael Beasley as a quick power forward.
• USC's Davon Jefferson is officially the draft's big slider. After inexplicably entering the draft early and hiring an agent -- despite being projected as a second-round pick -- Jefferson played poorly in Orlando. Then, in the combine, he flat-out stunk. How can a forward built like Jefferson lift the bar just two times in the strength testing? His vertical jump and lane agility results also were poor for a player of his caliber. I wouldn't be shocked if he goes undrafted.
• UAB's Robert Vaden and Alabama's Ronald Steele could also be hurt by their poor scores.
• I was disappointed that we didn't get to see Ty Lawson's sprinting scores. He's widely recognized as one of the fastest players in college basketball. It would've been interesting to see how he fared next to Weems, Gordon and Rose.
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.