# Why are vertical leaps so exaggerated?



## Amplifier (Feb 7, 2005)

Vertical Jump has always bothered me. While NBA players are some of the greatest Athletes in the world, I don't buy the 40+ inch vert myth... at least not to the extent that it's widely accepted.

Jordan was listed at 6'6" with a vert of 43". That would put his head 9 inches over the rim. I've never seen a picture of Mike jumping _that_ high. 

Now there is a method of measurement where they take the delta of the players standing reach and the highest point they can touch. 

The reason this method is different is that it accounts for the players ability to stretch in the air. At 6' I can stretch an extra 3 inches. So for Mike at 6'6" he may be able to stretch 4 inches, still I've never seen Mike's head even five inches above the rim.

Am I missing something here? I'm not trying to hate on Jordan et all, but isn't a vert of 43" ridiculous, regardless of how it's measured?

*Edit: I did my math wrong, my mistake*


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## Darius Miles Davis (Aug 2, 2002)

Amplifier said:


> Vertical Jump has always bothered me. While NBA players are some of the greatest Athletes in the world, I don't buy the 40+ inch vert myth... at least not to the extent that it's widely accepted.
> 
> Jordan was listed at 6'6" with a vert of 43". That would put his head 9 inches over the rim. I've never seen a picture of Mike jumping _that_ high.
> 
> ...


I think it's different jumping straight up with one step in a gym than it is jumping toward the rim in a game situation. You're usually avoiding other players or jumping sideways. Even when you're slam dunking, you're thinking about being artful, not just jumping high.

However, sure, maybe that number is inflated. I don't think there were reporterslike Chad Ford writing in depth stories on combine stats in the mid 80's.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

your math is off .

10 feet=120 inches
6'6 man =78 inches 
vert 43"
121 inches

basically if he jumped he would just barely hit his head on the rim. i dont see what so hard to believe about it. 

i suspect the 43' is a 1 step or running jump kind,(there are 3 different vertical jumps that are measured.) i think his standing vert. was actually supposed to be 39". 

the long jump holder mike powell had a 43 inch vert and at 6'3 i am not sure he would be a lock for any slam dunk contest against the league's best.

and people dont stretch in the air, if they went higher it would count in their jump.


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## bballlife (Oct 5, 2003)

Who told you MJ's vertical was 43?


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## kamego (Dec 29, 2003)

Vert doesn't mean a whole lot in terms of dunking, because you either can dunk or not. Vert is meaningful when your talking about defense players who block shots, ie vert makes Ben Wallace dangerous.


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## clien (Jun 2, 2005)

> i suspect the 43' is a 1 step or running jump kind,(there are 3 different vertical jumps that are measured.) i think his standing vert. was actually supposed to be 39".


i think the vertical jump that nba teams are most intrested in, and noted on a players profile is the one step jump


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## big3 (Jul 2, 2005)

did you guys know the highest vert measured was Michael Wilson of Memphis State U? It was 52 inches according to a mag I read.

He dunked on a hoop 11 feet high! (i saw it on tv)


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## TREX (Aug 4, 2011)

You are right according to the sports science show Michael Jordan and Vince Carter are at the limits of leaps. 40 inch verticals are rare. Michael Jordan's air time was time with the cameras to be .92 seconds about 41 inches. They mention Michael Jordan gives the illusion of more air time as his body stretches so his head stays at the peak of his jump slightly longer! He is a great leaper. Again 40 inches are rare. The show noted that no one can be in the air for 1 second. So a vertical leap of 50 inches is debunked and impossible by a human. Average NBA player 
leaps about 28 inches. Jordan Farmer was on the show I think a Laker at time his air time was .83 seconds. 

The best way to measure a person jump really is with cameras and that is what the sports show did. ½ * g* t^2= height where g is the acceleration of gravity on earth 32.17 ft/s^2 since we are familiar with inches we can use the 386.04 inches/s^2. If you are interested in how high a person fell or jumped cut the time in half 0.46 seconds if air time is 0.92. 

So you get. (1/2)*(386.04)*(0.46)^2= 40.84 inches

Again no one can jump 50 inches it is bogus. I don't care if they jumped over a car sideways. It can be clocked and measured scientifically. You can bend your legs to clear objects.


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## jet510 (Jul 19, 2011)

i agree, some vertical jumps can be greatly exagerated. but i you think about it a guy who is 6'6 with a 40 inch vert can do some pretty crazy dunks.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

speaking of this...

Does anybody know Dwight's or Lebron's vertical?


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## PauloCatarino (May 31, 2003)

Dee-Zy said:


> speaking of this...
> 
> Does anybody know Dwight's or Lebron's vertical?


Or Spud Webb's? Dee Brown's?


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## EGarrett (Aug 12, 2002)

Vertical leap is exaggerated because it's a numerical measure of human fitness or ability. Just like all the other numerical measures (height, body weight, bench press, IQ, you-know-what length) they're distorted into absolute oblivion.

According to DraftExpress, Dwight Howard's max vert was 35.5 inches. I also heard that Lebron's was 37". And according to old news stories Spud Webb's vert was 48" though obviously that's non-objective.

The highest vert measured officially in DraftExpress's archives is 45.5" by Kenny Gregory in 2001. The runner-ups were Nate Robinson (43.5"), and Jamario Moon and Vince Carter (both 43"). Others high on that list were Matt Santangelo (43") and Timmy Bowers (43.5"). 

Other factual information...in the 2000 Dunk Contest they had a "Vert Meter" that measured people's leaps on each of their dunks. Steve Francis got the highest at 40" even. From what I recall, and you can probably verify this on youtube...Vince Carter's highest was 37" on his elbow-dunk.


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## simply_amazing (Aug 23, 2009)

Michael Jordan was about 6'5" or 6'6" with shoes, in his playing days, and VC was about the same height. A vertical in the low 40's in their respective primes is believable for both players. 

Jordan/VC: 78 inches + 42 inches = 120", meaning the top of their head is about level with the rim.

LeBron James is a couple of inches taller than MJ/VC, and the top of his is just about level with the rim on some of his dunks, so his vertical is high 30's, low 40's also, at least.

edit: I suspect Jordan's vertical had declined to the high 30's, maybe 37" at the start of his second bulls run, which is probably what Kobe's peak vertical was.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

I always thought that Kobe was on par with Jordan in terms of athleticism/vertical


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## EGarrett (Aug 12, 2002)

More info: According to the guy on this page citing some stats that are partially confirmed by DraftExpress...

http://www.pocketfives.com/f13/what-your-standing-reach-250461/

Vince Carter's standing reach was measured at 8'11"...so plus the 37" vertical measured at the 2000 Dunk Contest...the tip of his fingers were exactly 2 feet (24") above the rim when he did the elbow dunk.

Also, Michael Jordan's standing reach was 8'10" and his highest touch was 12'5"...meaning his vertical was indeed measured at 43".

And...

Spud Webb 1985
Height w/o shoes: 5'6"
Height w/ shoes: 5'7"
Standing Reach: 7'4"
Highest Touch: 11'2"
Vertical Jump: 46 inches


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## simply_amazing (Aug 23, 2009)

Kobe's about 6'5" with shoes, but I've never seen his head close to the rim a la LeBron, VC, Jordan. His head's always several inches below, even with his 'fro. 

77" + 38" = 115"

Kobe's peak vertical was in the high 30's. Here's a mixtape. Kobe always looks up at the rim, even in his younger years:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FaDVuYyYG0

edit: here's Kobe's stats from the previous link. As I suspected, 38."

Jordan was also considerably faster, had bigger hands, a bit taller, much more competitive, there's just no comparison. 

Kobe Bryant 1996
Height w/o shoes: 6'5"
Height w/ shoes: 6'6"
Weight: 199
Wingspan: 6'11"
Standing Reach: 8'10"
Highest Touch: 12'0"
Vertical Jump: 38 inches



Dee-Zy said:


> I always thought that Kobe was on par with Jordan in terms of athleticism/vertical


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