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Usain Bolt and Basketball 3/4 Court Sprint Times

Posted: 08 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

With the NBA playoffs in full swing, you have to wonder if 6' 5" Usain Bolt played in the NBA, how good would he be? Remember the hype after Beijing when he attended a Boston Celtics game?

How fast can Usain Bolt run the 3/4 court sprint time?

A Basketball court is 94 feet long. But a 3/4 court would be 70.5′, and the test is standardized at 75 feet or 22.68 meters. The 3/4 court sprint test is the distance from the end line to the opponents free throw line in College basketball.

94 feet court minus 15 feet from free throw line to backboard minus 4 feet overhang = 75 feet.

The 3/4 Basketball Court Sprint is one of many test at the NBA combine. Like the NFL Combine, the vertical jump for explosive power is one of the tests. Other tests include: Kneeling Power Ball Throw, Lane Agility Drill, Multi-Stage Hurdle and the Max Touch test.

Like the 40 yard dash, several factors affect the times. Notably, standardized time protocols, reaction time, and the surface conditions.

Track is run with starting blocks, accounts for reaction time, uses spikes on synthetic tracks, and has electronic timing.

Basketball 3/4 Court Sprint times are run on a wooden lacquered basketball court and basketball shoes, and timing starts on first movement. Timing system varies by hand or use of non-standard electronic timing systems.

Fastest 3/4 Court Sprint Times?

The fastest recorded 3/4 court sprint time was Nate Robinson (Boston Celtics) with 2.96 seconds. He also boasted a 43.5" vertical leap. Then again, when you are only 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, you better be fast and jump high!
The 2009 NBA Combine Class had Toney Douglas with a 3.03, and Patrick Mills and Jodie Meeks posted 3.10 or faster.
The 2010 NBA Combine Class had Trevor Booker (Clemson) as the fastest in the group of 53 in 3.10 seconds. Other notable favorites include John Wall (Kentucky) and Wesley Johnson (Syracuse) both posting a time of 3.14. Evan Turner (Ohio State) ran a 3.27.

The 2010 NBA Draft takes place on June 24 at Madison Square Garden, New York. Only 2 rounds will be held, unlike baseball and football, so the competition is very cut throat! Get Drafted, or stay home (sounds like the Vietnam War?)

What could Usain Bolt run a Basketball 3/4 Court Sprint Time?

Now, this type of extrapolation is like comparing an Apple iPad to housing prices in Orange County.

But it would be fun to see IF we…

subtracted the reaction time
added the 0-20 meter segment split times
extrapolated 2.68 meters from the 3rd 10 meter segment

With no surprise, Usain Bolt comes out as the winner in 2.95 seconds with other notables under 3.00 seconds. He would still beat Nate Robinson (sorry Boston Fans!).

So there you have it. Anything under 3.00 seconds for 75 feet, or 22.68 meters with no reaction time is considered exceptional or world class.

Here are the complete results of the 2010 NBA Combine Class. Any surprises?

Athlete	School	3/4 Court	Athlete	School	3/4 Court
Trevor Booker	Clemson	3.10	Cole Aldrich	Kansas	3.35
Avery Bradley	Texas	3.14	Greg Monroe	Georgetown	3.35
Wesley Johnson	Syracuse	3.14	Sylven Landesberg	Virginia	3.36
John Wall	Kentucky	3.14	Jordan Crawford	Xavier	3.37
Terrico White	Mississippi	3.15	Jarvis Varnado	Mississippi State	3.37
Mikhail Torrance	Alabama	3.17	Lance Stephenson	Cincinnati	3.38
Xavier Henry	Kansas	3.18	Craig Brackins	Iowa State	3.39
James Anderson	Oklahoma State	3.19	Daniel Orton	Kentucky	3.39
Armon Johnson	Nevada	3.19	Luke Babbitt	Nevada	3.40
Damion James	Texas	3.20	Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	3.41
Ed Davis	North Carolina	3.21	Devin Ebanks	West Virginia	3.44
Gordon Hayward	Butler	3.22	Andy Rautins	Syracuse	3.49
Charles Garcia	Seattle	3.23	Willie Warren	Oklahoma	3.50
Stanley Robinson	Connecticut	3.23	Hassan Whiteside	Marshall	3.54
Sherron Collins	Kansas	3.24	DeMarcus Cousins	Kentucky	3.55
Gani Lawal	Georgia Tech	3.24	Derrick Caracter	Texas El Paso	3.61
Derrick Favors	Georgia Tech	3.25	Solomon Alabi	Florida State	3.68
Darington Hobson	New Mexico	3.25	Tiny Gallon	Oklahoma	3.70
Patrick Patterson	Kentucky	3.25	Eric Bledsoe	Kentucky	NA
Larry Sanders	Virginia Commonwealth	3.27	Paul George	Fresno State	NA
Evan Turner	Ohio State	3.27	Manny Harris	Michigan	NA
Ekpe Udoh	Baylor	3.29	Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	NA
Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	3.30	Dexter Pittman	Texas	NA
Lazar Hayward	Marquette	3.31	Quincy Pondexter	Washington	NA
Dominique Jones	South Florida	3.31	Jon Scheyer	Duke	NA
Artsiom Parakhouski	Radford	3.33	Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	NA
			Elliot Williams	Memphis	NA