Actor and Martial Artist Michael Jai White appeared on the Men's Health podcast, Strong Talk, to discuss training, aging, and masculinity, and eventually talked about the balanced physiques of Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant.

“I think it was no coincidence that some of the more aesthetically balanced physiques on the basketball court happened to be very efficient people,” White said.

“When you look at Michael Jordan, you look at Kobe Bryant, they’re so balanced, it’s no wonder they’re able to do things other people couldn’t,” he added.

Speaking to Basketball Network, former NBA champion Lindsey Hunter reflected on what it was like guarding both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan during his career.

Hunter described Bryant as “methodical” and “super fundamentally sound,” while praising the amount of work he put into his game. At the same time, Hunter said Jordan was simply “unguardable.”

When asked why he gave Jordan that label despite Bryant dominating defenders during his peak years, Hunter explained that Jordan had many of the same offensive traits as Bryant while also bringing another level of athleticism to the court.

Additionally, due to his wingspan, he could easily steal the ball and foil opponents’ plays.

The Four Athletic Body Archetypes

Ebenezer Samuel, CSCS, brought up during the Strong Talk discussion that the belief that aesthetics do not go hand-in-hand with athletic performance was incorrect. This was due to the fact that many athletes have better performance if their muscles are well-balanced.

The traits associated with having elite physiques, such as broad back, good posture, a conditioned body, and proportion, are not only aesthetically pleasing but also beneficial for enhancing performance levels.

Strength & Conditioning Coach, Pat Davidson, jumped into the conversation, stating that the skeletal structure of an athlete plays a major role in determining how they move and perform.

Davidson identifies four structural archetypes that dictate athletic ability:

• Wide-wide: They have broad rib cages and pelvis, and are best suited for strength and power positions such as linemen or elite squatters.
• Narrow-narrow: They have a slimmer structure, which is best suited for endurance-based sports.
• Wide-narrow: These people have a broad upper structure that tapers into a narrower pelvis, commonly known as the V-taper, associated with bodybuilders.
• Narrow-wide: Narrow-wide athletes feature a smaller upper frame and broader lower body, typically seen in rotational power hitters.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Rudra Dubey