Why do we talk about height so much and not standing reach? Standing reach seems much more relevant to a player's capabilities, no? Height gives you different sight lines I guess, sure, and gives your arms a higher fulcrum or whatever, but standing reach impacts actual play much more directly, seems like, as the top of the head is not a tool in basketball. This is bugging me. Thoughts? This guy certainly has strong feelings about this question: https://www.atthehive.com/2020/9/21...-reach-as-the-gold-standard-for-player-height
Standing reach is probably more important. Height can help your ability to aim for the basket with guys in your face though. Also helps big playmakers like Luka or Lebrun see over the defense like a quarterback.
Height is good for vision and seeing over the top of defenses. Standing reach is all about defense and extension on a shot. They’re different but related.
Wingspan and standing reach are essential factors to determine potential elite defensive prowess as well as finishing at the basket. But so is max vertical and 2nd jump ability. However effort, attitude and IQ are the most critical elements.
I think height also brings in potential size/weight as well though. I really don’t care what Harden’s standing reach is. I just know that his 6’5 frame allowed him not to get bullied in the post or easily bumped off his shot. Someone with his exact same frame but 3 inches shorter with a 3 inch higher standing reach won’t be able to make up for those things. Anytime I’m looking at a center I want to know their standing reach, but unless your a shot blocker/above the rim player, height is an easier measurement to understand a prospect.
As other posters have said they are both important. A larger height generally means larger frame. Standing reach has more to do with arm length. Arm length can help make up for lack of height and vice versa cuz the taller you are the less longer your arms need to be. So a good example would be Al Horford and Joey Dorsey, Horford is 2 inches taller (6'8 vs 6'6) but they have the same standing reach at 8'11. Just focusing merely on standing reach will cause you to make mistakes because Horford for example has an edge on Dorsey when it comes to his frame, he can bump off Dorsey and grab the rebs in the post using his bigger mass. Not just that though, in general people with longer arms tend to be worse shooters/scorers than people with normal length arms (of course there are exceptions like Kawhi or Tatum). OTH being smaller and having long arms generally means the dude is more athletic than the big dude with Trex arms and having a smaller frame would mean less injury risk in cases of bad falls or w/e. So there are pros and cons to both height and standing reach, you need both to get a more accurate picture on the player.
Wing span/Standing reach is more important for defensive specialist, height is more important for offense. If you have both you can pretty much do anything on the court (Kevin Durant).
This is simple ,would you rather have a 7 ft center with a 7 ft wingspan or a 6"9 center with a 7 foot wingspan ?
Does standing reach make that much difference if they are all midgets? These kids get shorter every time someone posts something Jalen Green is down to 6'2 Sengun 6'4 Turns out Jalen Tate is shorter than his 5'11 brother, so he must be 4'9. We gonna get toasted
