Mohamed Bamba is a total freak. The 20-year-old center showed off his ridiculous 7’10” wingspan and crazy athleticism for the Texas Longhorns this past season.
Here’s an example:
But NBA front offices probably didn’t realize just how absurdly well Bamba runs for a center until the last few weeks during workouts.
The Chicago Bulls are a team that has been heavily linked to Bamba, and for good reason. They pick seventh (though Bamba may be gone before that), they need a center, and they need to find potential franchise talents (they probably only have one right now in Lauri Markkanen).
Well, the Bulls recently worked out Bamba, and he reportedly ran a 3/4-court sprint time of 3.04 seconds. For context, that time is faster than Russell Westbrook, Dwyane Wade, and John Wall ran. Westbrook and Wall are viewed as fast as anybody in the league right now, and Wade certainly was in his early years (hence the nickname “Flash”).
Absolutely insane.
Bamba is sure to be a valuable rim protector right when he comes into the league, but you can see why evaluators think he has the upside to be a star if he can put it all together. Players that have nearly eight-foot wingspans and run sprint times better than guards don’t come around often. Or ever, really.
[Chicago Tribune; Larry Brown Sports]