“Michael Wilson probably does with a 55 inch vertical, Ronnie Fields and Jameel Pugh are both rumored to have over 50 inch verticals. All-time in the NBA, Dominique Wilkins in his prime said he had a 50 inch vertical, when he was coming out of college it was 47, Michael Jordan in the early 90s had a 48 inch vertical, Scottie Pippen in his prime had a 48 inch vertical. In the NBA now Paul McPhearson has a 47 inch vertical, I’m not sure what Vince Carter’s is, because at the press conference after he won the slam dunk contest he said he hasn’t had his vertical measured, but I heard at a Nike Camp when he was younger it was supposedly 47 inches. Eddie Robinson has a 42 inch vertical, as does Antonio Mcdyess, and Steve Francis has a 43 inch vertical, the Clippers team has 4 guys with 40+ inch verticals, Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette, Darius Miles, and Quentin Richardson. I don’t know what Spud Webb’s was but I’ve heard it was as high as 51, I heard David Thompson had a 45 inch vertical. “
All this 48 to 50 inch vertical leaping is nothing.
Wilt Chamberlain could jump straight up nearly 60 inches. There is a famous (and award winning) photograph of him (taken while he was a high-jumper in college) which shows Wilt in the air, next to a high-jump bar that is about 7 feet off the ground. Chamberlain’s hips are above the level of the bar. The only thing we don’t know from looking at the photograph is whether Wilt was on his way up, or on his way down, as the photo was snapped.
Chamberlain could jump higher than anyone who’s playing in the NBA today…these guys with 50 inch verticals don’t come close.
And you can’t tell a person’s leaping ability solely on whether they can dunk. By that I mean that, if Nate Robinson can dunk at 5′9″, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can jump higher than, say, Vince Carter, who can dunk at 6′7″. Carter can dunk on a 12 foot basket if he had to, Robinson wouldn’t come close. Guys jump has high as they need to in order to dunk, but it doesn’t mean that their leaping ability is maximized in order to dunk on a 10 foot basket (Robinson’s leaping ability, however, IS maximized on a 10 foot rim).
High jumping, as a sport, does not really measure the ability to get off the ground from a standing (actually crouching) position. There are other mechanics involved in the sport of high jumping.
Chamberlain probably had as high a vertical leap, from a standing position, as any athlete who ever lived.
The verticals listed are often exaggerated. The best to way record verticals is via head height. Take athletes height relative to the rim for example and this is your best option. Saying that, Michael Jordan has a 48″ vertical, and by vertical we are talking standing with no run, this means that at 6′6″ inches he is getting his head 6 inches above the rim from a standstill. I have never ever seen video of him that shows his standing vertical is anywhere near this.
If you search the web and youtube you will find some amazing dunkers however many are mainly running verticals. Dunkers like T-Dubb, Jus fly, Goldenchild can all get their heads above the rim, something many of the NBA guys mentioned have not been seen, and these dunkers are shorter. The highest standing vertical officially measured is by Alan Barch Jr, who goes by Squatdr online. It was measured at 50″ from a standstill. There are many reports of higher jumps, but this is the highest offically measured vertical that I have come across.
“When I was with the Harlem Globetrotters, my vertical leap was measured at around 50 inches. Spud Webb, who at five-eight dunks a basketball, has a vertical jump of just over forty inches. So imagine a seven-footer with a fifty-inch vertical. It may be half a foot higher than Michael Jordan.”
~Wilt Chamberlain, from Wilt Chamberlain: A View From Above
Wilt Chamberlain was prone to exaggeration, but even with a 35 inch vertical leap he would have been imposing. I suspect the 50 inch vertical leap was an exaggeration created by the Harlem Globe Trotters to fill seats. Wilt’s claim of a 50 inch vertical reminds me Jose Canseco’s claim on the Jim Rome show that he ran a 4.2 40 yard dash at 250 lbs.
Check out Area 51 from TFB on you tube. When he first came out, his vert was like 51 inches, on recent video dunking fans are saying it could be 53+ inches?!!
December 27th, 2008
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Took this from someone’s answer in slamonline:
“Michael Wilson probably does with a 55 inch vertical, Ronnie Fields and Jameel Pugh are both rumored to have over 50 inch verticals. All-time in the NBA, Dominique Wilkins in his prime said he had a 50 inch vertical, when he was coming out of college it was 47, Michael Jordan in the early 90s had a 48 inch vertical, Scottie Pippen in his prime had a 48 inch vertical. In the NBA now Paul McPhearson has a 47 inch vertical, I’m not sure what Vince Carter’s is, because at the press conference after he won the slam dunk contest he said he hasn’t had his vertical measured, but I heard at a Nike Camp when he was younger it was supposedly 47 inches. Eddie Robinson has a 42 inch vertical, as does Antonio Mcdyess, and Steve Francis has a 43 inch vertical, the Clippers team has 4 guys with 40+ inch verticals, Keyon Dooling, Corey Maggette, Darius Miles, and Quentin Richardson. I don’t know what Spud Webb’s was but I’ve heard it was as high as 51, I heard David Thompson had a 45 inch vertical. “
this is the one: Earl “the goat” Manigault. The best basketball player the world never seen, Ask Kareem about him…
Probably Nate Robinson or Jordan Farmar. Farmar can jump 54 inches.
yeah it’s earl “the goat” manigault
All this 48 to 50 inch vertical leaping is nothing.
Wilt Chamberlain could jump straight up nearly 60 inches. There is a famous (and award winning) photograph of him (taken while he was a high-jumper in college) which shows Wilt in the air, next to a high-jump bar that is about 7 feet off the ground. Chamberlain’s hips are above the level of the bar. The only thing we don’t know from looking at the photograph is whether Wilt was on his way up, or on his way down, as the photo was snapped.
Chamberlain could jump higher than anyone who’s playing in the NBA today…these guys with 50 inch verticals don’t come close.
And you can’t tell a person’s leaping ability solely on whether they can dunk. By that I mean that, if Nate Robinson can dunk at 5′9″, that doesn’t necessarily mean he can jump higher than, say, Vince Carter, who can dunk at 6′7″. Carter can dunk on a 12 foot basket if he had to, Robinson wouldn’t come close. Guys jump has high as they need to in order to dunk, but it doesn’t mean that their leaping ability is maximized in order to dunk on a 10 foot basket (Robinson’s leaping ability, however, IS maximized on a 10 foot rim).
High jumping, as a sport, does not really measure the ability to get off the ground from a standing (actually crouching) position. There are other mechanics involved in the sport of high jumping.
Chamberlain probably had as high a vertical leap, from a standing position, as any athlete who ever lived.
The verticals listed are often exaggerated. The best to way record verticals is via head height. Take athletes height relative to the rim for example and this is your best option. Saying that, Michael Jordan has a 48″ vertical, and by vertical we are talking standing with no run, this means that at 6′6″ inches he is getting his head 6 inches above the rim from a standstill. I have never ever seen video of him that shows his standing vertical is anywhere near this.
If you search the web and youtube you will find some amazing dunkers however many are mainly running verticals. Dunkers like T-Dubb, Jus fly, Goldenchild can all get their heads above the rim, something many of the NBA guys mentioned have not been seen, and these dunkers are shorter. The highest standing vertical officially measured is by Alan Barch Jr, who goes by Squatdr online. It was measured at 50″ from a standstill. There are many reports of higher jumps, but this is the highest offically measured vertical that I have come across.
“When I was with the Harlem Globetrotters, my vertical leap was measured at around 50 inches. Spud Webb, who at five-eight dunks a basketball, has a vertical jump of just over forty inches. So imagine a seven-footer with a fifty-inch vertical. It may be half a foot higher than Michael Jordan.”
~Wilt Chamberlain, from Wilt Chamberlain: A View From Above
Wilt Chamberlain was prone to exaggeration, but even with a 35 inch vertical leap he would have been imposing. I suspect the 50 inch vertical leap was an exaggeration created by the Harlem Globe Trotters to fill seats. Wilt’s claim of a 50 inch vertical reminds me Jose Canseco’s claim on the Jim Rome show that he ran a 4.2 40 yard dash at 250 lbs.
Check out Area 51 from TFB on you tube. When he first came out, his vert was like 51 inches, on recent video dunking fans are saying it could be 53+ inches?!!