Jordan and LeBron's Verticals Revealed

[LakerLegend]

I find that almost every vertical is smaller than people actually think. Seems to be something people always overestimate for big time dunkers. Lots of the most dynamic dunkers are right in that 35-38 range, and people swear they are in the low to mid 40's.

I think LeBron is closer to 40 than he is to 45, and Jordan has him edged by a few inches.

I also find it amusing that every time a guy comes through, who is supposed to have a mythical 44+ inch vertical (Wiggins, LeBron, etc)... they never record their vertical at the "official" places that will have listed measurements, like the Combine, the Nike Hoop Summit, or other camps. I get that once there is that much hype around it, they can only lose, but it's annoying when people say with such certainty what they really could record.

It's interesting, those North Carolina Jordan numbers I posted are supposedly from a scientific journal, tested in a legit environment.

So you think, "Ok, Jordan had a 45 running vert, so Wiggins 44 is possible"

Then you think, "Wait, Jordan only has a 35 standstill vert at North Carolina".

I'm no expert on verts but a 10 inch difference between a standing and running vert doesn't sound believable.

Then you think, "So Jordan tested a 35 standing, did Wiggins do a 44 standing?"

There's no way Wiggins jumps almost a foot higher than Jordan did coming into the league.

[E-Balla]

I find that almost every vertical is smaller than people actually think. Seems to be something people always overestimate for big time dunkers. Lots of the most dynamic dunkers are right in that 35-38 range, and people swear they are in the low to mid 40's.

I think LeBron is closer to 40 than he is to 45, and Jordan has him edged by a few inches.

I also find it amusing that every time a guy comes through, who is supposed to have a mythical 44+ inch vertical (Wiggins, LeBron, etc)... they never record their vertical at the "official" places that will have listed measurements, like the Combine, the Nike Hoop Summit, or other camps. I get that once there is that much hype around it, they can only lose, but it's annoying when people say with such certainty what they really could record.

It's interesting, those North Carolina Jordan numbers I posted are supposedly from a scientific journal, tested in a legit environment.

So you think, "Ok, Jordan had a 45 running vert, so Wiggins 44 is possible"

Then you think, "Wait, Jordan only has a 35 standstill vert at North Carolina".

I'm no expert on verts but a 10 inch difference between a standing and running vert doesn't sound believable.

Then you think, "So Jordan tested a 35 standing, did Wiggins do a 44 standing?"

There's no way Wiggins jumps almost a foot higher than Jordan did coming into the league.

There's still guys like Vince jumping 43s at the combine and guys like Gerald Green jumping 45s in game.

[drag_on]

Jordan was more of a long jumper. 48 inches is unrealistic and stupid as fk. My eyes say MJ does not jump higher than D-Rose and Rose "only" recorded a 40.

About Lebron...he's just an overrated piece of sht dunker. All he is is an in game fast break dunker. Useless "40 inch" vertical. No explosive 2 feet jump to take 7 footer contacts while throwing down the thunder.

[D.Brasco]

Jordan was a master of contorting his body to appear to just hang in the air but I don't think he ever got as purely high up as lebron. I'm talking ducking your head out of the way of the rim height.

[KD35Brah]

Jordan was a master of contorting his body to appear to just hang in the air but I don't think he ever got as purely high up as lebron. I'm talking ducking your head out of the way of the rim height.

Jordan hit his head on a backboard going up for a block....
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qjd3s_McVk[/youtube]

[Jaivl]

Isn't the backboard like... 6 inches lower than the rim?

[KyletheDingbat]

Isn't the backboard like... 6 inches lower than the rim?

Yeah but he smacked the back of his neck on it.

[Jaivl]

Isn't the backboard like... 6 inches lower than the rim?

Yeah but he smacked the back of his neck on it.

Please wait for a second while I use my amazing image-editing skills...

(3 hours later)

Spoiler:

[KyletheDingbat]

Isn't the backboard like... 6 inches lower than the rim?

Yeah but he smacked the back of his neck on it.

Please wait for a second while I use my amazing image-editing skills...

(3 hours later)

Spoiler:

Applaud the effort, but are you indicating that Jordan's head was a foot below the rim here? The perspective is clearly skewed. We can reasonably assume the backboard is between 6-8 inches below the rim. He hits the upper part of his shoulder on the backboard, and not even at the peak of his jump. Eh whatever, what a useless debate lol.

[NO-KG-AI]

.

Regarding your post on the disparity between someone's standing vertical, and vertical with steps...

Most guys have a pretty big gap, but usually not 10 inches. In Draft Express's measurement history, the highest recorded no step vertical is exactly 40", and no one else has been able to hit 40. There are a few guys with an 8-10 inch difference.

Jamario Moon is 6'6.5 with no shoes, and had a 33" no step vertical, and a 43" max vertical.

So it's possible that Mike's max was 45" if his standing vertical was 35", but more likely that it was 41-42.

I wouldn't really be shocked if it was 41-42 instead of 45+. Mike was a phenomenal aerial attacker, but he was also a pretty big guy, with huge hands, and a great wingspan. That often gives the illusion that guys get a lot higher than they do. Hell, Dwyane Wade is a guy in the 35" range, and he's one of the best finishers ever at that size.

[DNice68]

Everyone knows MJ was a great leaper but his head reaches rim level on about half of his dunks! There's a lot of his dunks where he's high but not at rim level. Lebron's head was over the rim on half of his dunks and at rim level on most of his dunks.

[LakerLegend]

.

Regarding your post on the disparity between someone's standing vertical, and vertical with steps...

Most guys have a pretty big gap, but usually not 10 inches. In Draft Express's measurement history, the highest recorded no step vertical is exactly 40", and no one else has been able to hit 40. There are a few guys with an 8-10 inch difference.

Jamario Moon is 6'6.5 with no shoes, and had a 33" no step vertical, and a 43" max vertical.

So it's possible that Mike's max was 45" if his standing vertical was 35", but more likely that it was 41-42.

I wouldn't really be shocked if it was 41-42 instead of 45+. Mike was a phenomenal aerial attacker, but he was also a pretty big guy, with huge hands, and a great wingspan. That often gives the illusion that guys get a lot higher than they do. Hell, Dwyane Wade is a guy in the 35" range, and he's one of the best finishers ever at that size.

Here's the thing though. Jordan's leaping didn't peak at UNC. It peaked probably 87-89. No question when you compare his rookie dunk contest to his later contests, especially the 88 FT line dunk where he gets way more elevation than his rookie FT one. So if it's to be believed he had a 45 running at UNC you've got to believe he was close to 48 later, and I we've never seen anything to suggest that.

[john248]

Well, all this tells me is that being an outlier when it comes to a vertical isn't anything special. There's a minimum, but other than that, being able to jump 45" with a running start isn't all that important.