It’s only natural for the sport of basketball to have evolved over the decades. Feats that were considered otherworldly 40 years ago are now ‘run of the mill’ highlights for a given night. No greater example of this would be what basketball content creator, Kristopher London, had to say when comparing Amen Thompson to Michael Jordan.
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Amen has made a name for himself as perhaps the most athletic player in the NBA currently. At just 22 years old, he’s established himself as one of the league’s best baseline cutters, perimeter defenders, and high-fliers.
However, are these attributes enough to earn him a spot on the table next to Michael Jordan? London certainly thinks so.
“If he was put in the 80s and 90s, I’m not sure if Michael Jordan would be talked about the way he is. Not even trying to discredit or disrespect Mike. Put the two highlights side by side.”
Quite the lofty statement. Though, in all fairness, Kris isn’t saying Amen is better. He’s merely comparing their athleticism and highlight-worthy plays which are somewhat comparable.
Thompson’s vertical jump has been recorded as being above 40 inches with ‘Draftexpress’ claiming 44. MJ has famously had a 48 inch vertical which did receive a fair deal of skepticism as that would mean he could touch the top of the backboard with ease.
Not only his leaping ability but his speed contributes to his style of play as well. The maximum speed recorded for Amen on the court was 23 miles per hour. For comparison’s sake, Usain Bolt’s average speed during his 2009 100-meter record-breaking race was clocked at 23.35 mph.
Kris continued by saying, “His layup package is something I’ve never seen combined with his dunk package. You can’t even create this in 2K. That’s how good and crazy it is.”
Amen has drawn comparisons to a ton of greats across league history and they’ve ranged from the GOAT all the way to All-Stars. Danny Green, for example, said he’s an Andre Iguodala-type, Swiss-army knife kind of player.
Thompson hasn’t commented on these comparisons as of yet and he probably won’t given that he’s admitted to not being on social media all too often. He’s dialed in on his own development and turning off any outside noise is perhaps the best way to do that, even if it comes at the cost of hearing compliments.
