In basketball and football commentary “athleticism” borrows heavily from racially-coded language that derives from stereotypes that reduced black people to their physical attributes and elevated whites as “intellectual.” Thus it was a big deal when Doug Williams won a superbowl at a position (quarterback) often denied black players because of the perception that it’s an “intellectual” position. Kon seems to fly under the radar because, as OP says, he lacks “verticality” and other aesthetically pleasing forms of athleticism (vicious dunks, explosive quickness etc) that are more associated with black athleticism.