Flat foot is an issue for athletes across the globe. Whether it be runners, footballers, or even basketball players, they’re all worried if their humble arches will slow them down.

From our article on the disadvantages of flatfoot towards athletes, we’ve highlighted multiple reasons to why people with flatfeet would theoretically perform worse than others. Those theories aren’t just theories, either. We have well-accredited research articles that support our arguments.

However, what weight do scholarly articles have in face of the indomitable human spirit?

Multiple athletes have persevered and succeeded despite their having flatfeet. Whether their success was because flatfeet gave them an advantage or whether it was because they were hard-working enough to pull through, is another controversial discussion for a separate article.

Among the most successful basketball athletes out there, these are the three great names that have been confirmed to have flatfeet: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant.

1. Michael Jordan

Regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and also contributing a big deal to popularizing basketball as a sport, Michael Jordan is the first name on this list.

It might be surprising to discover that he has flatfeet, especially with his outstanding leaping ability. He even earned the nickname “Air Jordan” before his shoes were even a thing!

It’s a difficult thing to find an unequivocal statement by the man himself, but the next best thing is a statement by a man of the same team.

In a Gil’s Arena YouTube video, Gilbert Arenas, former member of the Washington Wizards, revealed quite clearly that Michael Jordan was flat-footed. For context, when Gilbert joined the team in 2003, he found a bunch of Jordan’s gear that he left, including his orthotics.

“He (Michael Jordan) was flat-footed,” said Gilbert. “He didn’t have the hard one(s),” he continued, which shows us that MJ had a somewhat semirigid orthotic with adequate arch support, further proving that he has flatfeet.

the Injury of 1985

Flatfeet makes it easier for a person to get foot injuries, particularly the midfoot region. Bones that make up the midfoot include the navicular, cuneiform, and the cuboid bones.

One small but devastating injury that Michael Jordan sustained was during the early rise of his career, when he was still playing for the Chicago Bulls.

It was Tuesday of 29th October 1985, while he was playing against the Golden State Warriors. He broke injured his midfoot during the play. It wasn’t like he fell or stepped on his foot the wrong way either.

Based on the grainy footage we have now, it seemed like a normal play. Luckily in 2020, ESPN released the documentary titled “The Last Dance” which centers Michael Jordan’s career.

In the second episode, he described what happened that day:

“We’re playing Golden State. I go up for a lob, and when I landed, I landed flat-footed“

It was clear that Jordan’s injury was related to his foot anatomy. Having the arch lower than normal would make the bones closer to the ground, especially the ones in the inner side of the feet like the navicular.

When they did the CAT scan, it was confirmed that he had a navicular bone fracture on his left foot.

As per the words of the Chicago Bulls’ physician at the time, Dr John Hefferon said:

It’s an area of the body that may not heal very rapidly because of the poor blood supply”

He was devastated, especially because never got hurt before. I mean, he even was the Rookie of the Year for the 1984-85 season. Suddenly all he could do was sit by the bench and watch. Wouldn’t anyone be devastated?

the jordan mentality

From here on, we see a glimpse of Jordan’s mentality. It was sort of an obsession that he could not control.

All the time he was sitting on the bench, in his words, he was “itching to do something.” He was even throwing balls from the bench.

This led him to go back to the University of North Carolina, after convincing his team. There, he really pushed through with physiotherapy, gym work, and surprisingly, basketball.

He was doing all this without the Bulls knowing even a hint of it, and it seemed like this was intentional. His team manager and physician wouldn’t have allowed him to do it otherwise.

He started with doing one-on-ones, then two-on-twos, until he was going for five-on-fives.

When he got back to the Bulls, his team manager, Jerry Krause, was utterly horrified when he saw how the developed the muscles of Jordan’s injured leg was. This was because he knows that Jordan wasn’t getting the rest that the doctors told him to have.

Eventually Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls, allowed Jordan to play but with a condition that he only gets to play 7 minutes per half.

Everyone was afraid of letting Jordan play because there’s a 10% chance of him re-injuring and ending his career. But to Jordan, he saw it as a 90% chance in his favor.

In the playoffs against the Indiana Pacers in 1986 is where we saw the clash between what Jordan thought of basketball and what the managements thought of it.

For the management including the Chicago Bulls owner and manager, they saw it as a business. They weren’t intending to win the game because they’re aiming to get a better draft pick in the NBA draft lottery.

But to Jordan, he wanted to go all out at all times. This is what he said about NBA draft lottery:

“That just shows a losing attitude and not just on the team, but in the front office also. We should always go out and try to win.”

This goes to show the “Jordan mentality” which contributed a lot to his success. Whether it be injuries or management issues, he always sought out to win and give his best at every instance.

Later, we will see how this contrasts with the “Mamba mentality” which focuses more on how to always be a step ahead from your opponent.

2. Kobe Bryant

Also known as the “Black Mamba”, the late Kobe Bryant is the second on the list of famous basketball athletes with flatfeet.

With a stunning record of winning five NBA championships, it’s surprising that this two-time NBA finals most valuable player (MVP) has a foot deformity that theoretically shouldn’t make his achievements possible.

In a Forbes interview, he was asked about his feet. For context, the whole interview was about Kobe’s new shoe, the Kobe 9 Elite being released by Nike.

Since he did a lot of testing on the shoe himself, it’s actually a fair question to ask.

When asked if his feet were any weirded than his teammates, this was his reply:

Ha, well I don’t think you’ll find a basketball player in the world that has arches. It’s impossible. I have flat feet. But they don’t look atrocious though, haha. They don’t look atrocious. They don’t look atrocious.

There you go, an unequivocal statement through the tongue of the Black Mamba himself.

Kobe’s reply also hints to us that the majority of basketball players have low arches. Whether this statement is true or not, it’s a matter of analyzing each athlete and finding strong evidence for the claim.

attention to detail

Kobe had many traits that contributed to his overwhelming success in basketball. One such detail is the “Mamba mentality” or “Mamba mindset” that he developed ever since high school.

In an interview with Lewis Howes, we get to know a story about how he developed a mindset of always being one step ahead of his opponents.

Since he was the son of the famous NBA player Joe Bryant, he wouldn’t want his peers to think that he’s easy-going because he “had it easy”. So, during his time at an All-American Camp, when his peers were taking a break at the cafeteria, he would instead go to the gym.

This is his way of sending a message to other people that he’s hard-working and not an easy person to overcome.

In fact, his attention to detail spans even to his foot care, which is the main discussion of this article. Kobe understood that his feet was an important asset to his career.

In a Forbes interview, he mentioned that he was particular on getting his feet pedicured because they’re his livelihood. In his words, he said:

“Yeah, you know I’ve always made it a point to get pedicures. I mean if you think about it you’re making a living from your feet.“

His foot care would always involve getting a pedicure, removing calluses, and get a paraffin dip regularly.

Since he had flatfeet, it would make sense to take extra care of his feet. After all, the uneven distribution of foot pressure due to flat arches, coupled the high-intensity sport that he does, would make his feet more prone to calluses and injuries.

creating the best shoe

If Michael Jordan had the Air Jordans made for him when he was a rookie, Kobe was not different.

Kobe had a vision on what would be the best shoe for basketball, and his partnership with various sports brands reflected this. He partnered with Adidas and Nike for the majority of his signature Kobe line.

He wanted a shoe that could allow him to move efficiently in the court, and that would prevent injuries.

One such shoe is the Kobe 9 Elite, which he took extra time in figuring out how the design should turn out. In the Forbes interview, we see him talking about the technical aspects of his shoe such as making sure it’s the best shoe for playing basketball with.

For example, his shoes incorporate three technologies to enhance performance: Flyknit, Flywire, and Lunarlon. Kobe really made sure that the Flyknit technology worked for his basketball shoes, because it was originally a tech designed for running shoes.

He understood the technicalities of leg movement in that basketball requires him to move dynamically in all directions and all planes.

Moreover, Kobe was particular on the deciding whether his shoe would have a high or a low top. A high top would limit ankle movement, while a low top lacks the ankle support but won’t prevent ankle strengthening as would a high top.

He chose the middle ground: a high top with flexible, light, but strong material which allows the ankle to move naturally while still providing support.

3. Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant is the final player on this list which we want to highlight. He’s also the only player in the list that’s still playing until now.

With two NBA championship wins, two final MVP awards, and was selected 14 times for the NBA All-Stars event, Durant has a squeaky-clean track record.

It may be surprising, but he also has another unique record: Kevin Durant’s shoes fell off during games more times than any other NBA player in history. In an interview by FiveThirtyEight, Kevin admitted that he lost his shoes about every 8 games.

One plausible factor that has caused this issue for him is the anatomical structure of his feet, and that’s where we get to the juicy part.

In the same interview by FiveThirtyEight, Kevin Durant said this:

“My feet are so weird, man. I’ve got flat feet. I’ve got all sorts of calluses and corns on my feet”

When we look at some pictures of Durant’s feet, they’re really flat, narrow, and slender. No wonder he’s having trouble keeping those shoes on.

With the amount of movement and versatility he needs per game as a small forward, it’s not surprising that his shoes just slip away.

facing injuries head on

One of the huge disadvantages of Durant faces due to his feet’s abnormal anatomy is that they make his feet prone to injuries. Not only that, but the injuries were also difficult to correct and heal.

For example, before he started the 2014-15 season, he had a unique fracture called the Jones fracture.

In our article regarding the disadvantages of flatfeet in sports, we highlighted that there are certain fractures that are more common for flat foot. One such fracture is the fracture of the metatarsal bones.

The Jones fracture that Durant endured was indeed a type of metatarsal fracture, involving the fifth metatarsal. This is the bone in the midfoot that is in line with the pinky toe.

The thing with the Jones fracture is that the location of the injury has poor blood supply even for normal-footed people. Therefore, it heals much slower.

Durant also had an Achilles tendon injury, which is an injury he also has a higher risk of having due to his flatfeet. Both injuries marked a scary episode of Durant’s life because it really threatened his career.

During an interview with Rich Kleinman, Durant expressed how scary his injuries were by saying “All of this (redacted) was scary, even with the Achilles.”

To make matters even worse, the injury happened during Game 5 of the NBA finals, while the whole crowd of 20 000 people was watching. In his words, he didn’t feel like he was walking on normal foot. When he injured his Achilles tendon, all his foot could do was hang and he felt nothing but his ankle.

“My whole basketball career just flashed before my eyes. Everything. Everything I did, everything I thought about, all my favorite moments, all my bad moments. It flashed.”

Despite this scary episode in Durant’s career, he did not give up. For the next five years, he had his debut match for the Brooklyn Nets to win against his former team, the Golden State Warriors.

Currently, he’s playing for the Phoenix Suns, won multiple matches, and moved up to the 10th place on the NBA all-time career scoring list. He’s in no way slowing down.

motivation

Despite the career-threatening injuries that Durant had, he always got back up.

So, what was the reason behind his unbreakable motivation to keep going? Was it the endless amount of praise from the media and the non-stop critique or was it the love and support he got from his family and friends?

In the interview with Rich Kleinmann, he said that more than anything, he’s motivated about perfecting his skills in basketball.

In his words, he said:

“I wouldn’t say I’m motivated by the narrative. Like I hear it and understand it, but I’ve been never motivated by that. It’s always been about can I perfect the craft tonight? Can I be at my best tonight?”

Durant’s motivation lies on his love for the game, and his tunnel-focus on winning every game he plays.

In fact, some games he felt that he could score more but he just committed to playing as a team because he understands that there’s more to the game than just scoring.

“And that’s the beauty of playing on great teams and going to the Warriors and playing for the Nets and playing for the Suns. You play around great players and different perspectives around the game. You understand it’s bigger than you.“

Durant understood that basing his motivation on something fragile as word of mouth won’t lead him to greatness. Instead, he dug deep down and found his love for the craft and learned to enjoy the journey.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having flatfeet doesn’t necessarily mean that a person won’t ever excel in basketball, or any other sport for that matter.

This fact is proven by the legends in basketball such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant, who all excelled despite having low arches.

A few lessons can be taken from these players, which are:

1. Don’t lose all hope if you’re injured. Take your time for the injury to heal and make sure you’re following your physician or physiotherapist’s advice.
2. Take extra measures to prevent injuries in sport, such as wearing a suitable pair of shoes and using a well-chosen orthotic. We have a whole article on how to properly choose an orthotic insole for all feet types.
3. Always aim to do your best in every game.
4. Figure out ways to play your opponent both mentally and physically.
5. Take good care of your feet, because they’re your biggest asset in basketball.
6. Above all else, keep perfecting your skills and be a team player.