The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball worldwide – every young basketball player wants to play in the NBA. Only the finest get to play in the league. Many talented and skilled athletes with stellar collegiate careers have failed to make it in the NBA, forcing them to explore opportunities abroad.
You can play in the NBA with one arm. The rules don’t bar anyone with a physical disability from playing in the NBA, but playing with one arm doesn’t seem feasible. A player with one arm would struggle to cope with the extreme physicality and intensity of the NBA.
This piece will delve deeper into the physical requirements of playing in the NBA.
Are There Any Physical Requirements for the NBA?
Contrary to popular myth, there are no physical requirements for playing in the NBA. However, teams will only choose players with fit and skillful players. NBA franchises use events like the Draft Combine to assess the strength, power, speed, and agility of potential picks.
A dominant characteristic of NBA players is that they are tall – most tower beyond 6’ (1.83 meters). Consequently, many people wrongly assume you must be tall to play in the NBA. Muggsy Bogues, the NBA’s shortest player, was 5’3” (1.60 meters) and averaged around 8 assists per game.
Being short in a league of behemoths is a handicap. Similarly, playing with one arm in a physical game like basketball impedes success. The rules don’t prohibit a one-armed player from competing in the NBA, but it’s unlikely that a team will gamble on such a player, regardless of their skill.
Wingspan, the distance between a player’s fingertips with their arms stretched out, wasn’t considered important in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. It became a valued physical attribute in the 21st century as coaches and analysts began to appreciate the advantages of long wingspans.
An extra couple of wingspan inches gave players an edge over their opponents. The extra inches increased the likelihood of an interception, making a block, or getting to a rebound before the opponent.
A paper by biological anthropologist Tesla Monson found that wingspan has become more critical in recent years as players are encouraged to play multiple positions.
A player without an arm essentially has half the wingspan of an NBA player, placing them at a unique disadvantage in a game where wingspan has become crucial. The player might have the skill to go past players and the vision to find teammates, but the lack of an arm negates those advantages. A one-armed player in an NBA team would be a liability.
Several one-armed players, including Hansel Emmanuele, have attempted to break into the NBA. Hansel Emmanuele, a Dominican Republic native, lost his left arm when he was six. However, he didn’t give up on his passion for basketball, eventually making it to the United States.
Emmanuele, who plays for Northwestern University, has received many plaudits, including from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal. Hansel is an intelligent and skillful player – otherwise, Northwestern wouldn’t have included him in their roster.
Hansel has already recorded his first points for the team, but the stats show he is a fringe player. Emmanuelle’s story is inspiring, but his dream of making it to the NBA while playing with one arm seems unlikely.
Conclusion
The NBA doesn’t bar players with one arm from playing in the league. However, the physical demands of the league preclude a one-armed player from success in the NBA.
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see a player with one arm play in the NBA.