We all know about Tim Duncan’s well-documented background as a swimmer before making the transition to hoops, but now another big man has emerged to challenge Duncan’s title as the NBA’s aquatics king— at least in the 10-and-under category.
Turns out former Raptor and current Atlanta Hawks power forward Kris Humphries was a prodigious swimmer as a kid. As Hawks.com posted earlier today, Humphries beat both Olympic record holder Michael Phelps and fellow U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte in a 1995 swim event at the age of 10.
Humphries, 31, didn’t just beat the future aquatic stars, but thoroughly dominated the events, establishing several records in the process. From the Hawks.com story:
Furthermore, the young Humphries registered top-10 times in all nine race categories, including three age-bracket records, two of which – the 50m and 100m freestyle – lasted in the U.S. Swimming’s youth national record books for over 18 years. Though his national records have since fallen, Humphries still holds a dozen age-bracket records in the state of Minnesota.
Humphries, who has earned $56.9 million in NBA contracts since being drafted 12 years ago, has cited the burnout factor as a reason he didn’t pursue swimming further as he got older.
“I was so good at a young age,” he told People magazine in 2013, “that I got a little burnt out. I also grew up in the Michael Jordan era … for me, I watched [basketball] and saw it as a challenge. It’s hard to stay focused on something when you have a ton of success at a young age, so I picked up basketball a little later and rolled with that.”
