Does sports greatness come down to physical dominance?

[Csfan1984]

If we think of sports greatest does it always come down to superior athletes? I was just thinking about some of the all time greats and they were all physically gifted.
LeBron, Jordon, Bird (height), Magic, Wilt, Russell ect

How much does being a special athlete come into play vs skill? What are your opinions on if being physically gifted is the difference between good to great players? And think of entire careers vs short runs as well.

[Fafnir]

Physical Dominance is necessary, but its not enough as a great many superbly athletic 7 footers can't play a lick of basketball even at the college level.

[acieEarl]

Bird was far from a superior athlete. Def a good athlete but not a superior one. Need skills to get to the next level.

[byennie]

It's the #1 factor, for sure. The thing is, it's a bit of a funnel. The most physically gifted kids play more sports, get more training, etc and it self-selects for physical specimens.

There are also different types of physical gifts. Certainly being tall, jumping high and having long arms is great for basketball, but don't be fooled into thinking Larry Bird or Steve Nash didn't have physical gifts. Just different ones.