I said 3-point shooting, not free throws. And you should learn about Cousy. He was the "white Globetrotter" before Maravich. But I digress from my original point, which was that you put too much importance on dunking. True, for the average 6-footer out there, it might be the most athletic feat imaginable (ever downhill snow ski? For athleticism, it will give dunking a run for your money). I'll throw another thought experiment at you. I'll let you pick your all star dunk team; best dunker from all 5 positions. I'll take any center from history you want to give me. But my backcourt is Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, and my forwards are Reggie Miller and Dirk Nowitski. Let's play.
its not about being the best dunker, its about being able to dunk at all. this is why my point was so strong, because its inclusive of players considered anti-dunkers like maravich and bird and tremont waters. steph curry can dunk. because he is athletic freak. but even if he never dunks once it wouldnt hurt his game. but the key is HE CAN. because dunking means athlete. i am actually curious if shaq could beat augustus at the 3 pointer comp. he might. your example guys, again they strenghten my point. all of them can dunk. steph, lillard miller nowitzky. all can dunk. its one of the skills that make them different than the general population. lillard especially is an incredible athlete, a tomahawk blasting dunker. given a random group of 1000 people, give me 13 dunkers. you think of a skill, the 13 anything else, that would beat my team. i actually think that by selecting for dunkers you could also assemble a good football team. joe burrow can dunk. because my point is true, dunking is a great indicator for elite athleticism.
the greatest american soccer player to ever live is christian pulisic. little guy, at 5'8. yunno what he can do? dunk. dunking does not make you good at soccer. but being able to dunk means you are a super athlete that has a chance even in non-dunk sports. like women are not. https://www.espn.co.uk/video/latest-videos/600/video/3333185
i disagree with the premise of your question/accusation that i have a fetish about dunking. i am pointing out the massive and overwhelming athletic difference between men and women and specifically the basketball teams, using dunking ability as a metric for physicality. dunking indicates some combination of strength/size/athleticism that is vanishly rare among women, but very common among male athletes at almost all levels, and many sports. for example i bet rafael nadal can dunk. serena williams cannot. also i thought it was interesting the scenario i made up where you select from a random group of people for one skill, what would you pick to get the best team. i challenge anyone for a skill that will create a better team. even if the sport isnt basketball. i really enjoy it when a big fella, like an NFL offensive tackle, can dunk. and they often can. its amazing. the size and explosiveness of (male) athletes is amazing. i think you would get a better football team if you select for dunkers than for sprinters. though a counterexample is baseball where i think you should choose throwing velocity. basically i am saying if the athletes are not explosive enough to dunk, at least some of them, then the sport often sucks. this is exepcially valid for womens basketball because basketball is their specialty and still they cant dunk. no i cannot dunk. i am only 5'9. at my lightest and most athletic i might have been able to get a bb over the rim, as i could barely touch it.
