Best and Worst Wingspans of the NBA Combine

With the NBA Combine last week, NBA nerds like me received a whole new set of data to obsess over for 60 of the top prospects in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, we missed out on data for the real big guns – Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram elected not to participate, while international players like Dragan Bender were unable to make it.

I would have loved to see Bender’s official numbers, as some sources have him at 7 feet, while some go to 7′ 1″ – and all sources are questionable.

For the players we did get to see, there are tons of great pieces of information. The measurable reported at the NBA Combine are standing reach, wingspan, height (both with and without shoes), weight, body fat, hand width, and hand length.

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These are all pretty interesting to look at (Kyle Wiltjer coming in at 15.25% body fat? Come on man!), but I am going to focus on wingspan.

I’ve already written about my thoughts on wingspan here. Short story: I like it, a lot. However, to get a better perspective on this, I am going to show you the best and worst players at the combine by wingspan to height ratio.

The thinking is fairly simple – a wingspan significantly higher than your height gives you more of an advantage, potentially one missed when initially looking at a player. All heights will be without shoes.

Top 5 Wingspan to Height Ratios:

Wade Baldwin IV – 6′ 2.5″ with a 6′ 11.25″ wingspan – 1.117 ratio
Cheick Diallo – 6′ 7.5″ with a 7′ 4.5″ wingspan – 1.113 ratio
Nigel Hayes – 6′ 6.25″ with a 7′ 3″ wingspan – 1.111 ratio
A.J. English – 6′ 2″ with a 6′ 10″ wingspan – 1.108 ratio
Robert Carter Jr. – 6′ 6.75″ with a 7′ 3.25″ wingspan – 1.108 ratio

These guys all obviously helped their stock here. Baldwin’s wingspan is a ridiculous 11.7% longer than his height.

Bottom 5 Wingspan to Height Ratios:

Melo Trimble – 6′ 1.25″ with a 6′ 2″ wingspan – 1.010 ratio
Jake Layman – 6′ 8″ with a 6′ 9.25″ wingspan – 1.016 ratio
Michael Gbinije – 6′ 5.5″ with a 6′ 7.5″ wingspan – 1.026 ratio
Sheldon McClellan – 6′ 5″ with 6′ 7″ wingspan – 1.026 ratio
Troy Williams – 6′ 5.75″ with a 6′ 8.25″ wingspan – 1.032 ratio

This is going to hurt for these players, especially an undersized guard in Trimble.

Notables:

Poor ratios:

Jakob Poeltl – 7′ .025″ with a 7′ 2.75″ wingspan – 1.032 ratio

Jarrod Uthoff – 6′ 8.5″ with a 6′ 11.5″ wingspan – 1.037 ratio

Thon Maker – 6′ 11.75″ with a 7′ 3″ wingspan – 1.038 ratio

Good Ratios:

Zhou Qi – 7′ 1.25″ with a 7′ 7.75″ wingspan – 1.076 ratio

Denzel Valentine – 6′ 4″ with a 6′ 10.75″ wingspan – 1.089 ratio

Pascal Siakam – 6′ 8.25″ with a 7′ 3.25″ wingspan – 1.087 ratio

Next: The Risk of Dragan Bender

Wingspan is of course just one piece of the puzzle. However, the value of a huge wingspan seems to be significant, so these ratios are worth considered. We can all thank Draymond Green for officially making wingspan sexy.