[SkywalkerAC]

all estimates, facts, and rankings are welcome. off two feet.

to name a few: (roughly descending order )

steve francis
vince carter
stephon marbury
tracy mcgrady
kobe bryant
ricky davis
stromile swift
baron davis
deshawn stevenson
darius miles

 

[OZZY]

Ok that is a awesome topic but your just guessing, I want some real numbers that say there exact vertical! I don't know where you could get that though?

 

[Hollis]

Steve Francis's is around 43-47

 

[SkywalkerAC]

vert numbers aren't tossed around too often. i read (unknown source) that stromile was at 44" coming into the league. i think that in the 00 dunk comp, francis' highest was 42 or something (i'm sure someone has the right numbers) and vince was around 38 (360 windmill tho) pretty sure that stevie can hit at least 45 and vince at least 43. doesn't really seem high enough considering i have friends that can leap 40.

 

[JNice]

There arent nearly as many people as you make it seem like with 40 inch verticals.

Both Francis and Vince are somewhere around 40 inches, but I dont think either is in the mid-40 area.

 

[shroombal]

wut wuz spud webb's vert?

 

["Matt!"]

Actually, I think Francis hitting 43" in the Slam Dunk Contest, you know, the last REAL year of the dunk contest, was probably the highest he could jump with a ball considering the type of dunk and situation.

 

[SkywalkerAC]

right, now take away the ball and the situation...

 

[JNice]

Not to be devil's advocate here, but I don't think those vert measurements during that contest were very accurate.

Those measurements were shown only moments after the actual dunks, with no reasonable way shown for them to be measured.

I think those were educated guesses based on the video footage.

Most of the guys in the NBA we would consider great dunkers are probably around the 35-40 inch range. Like VC, Tmac, Richardson, Mason, Marion, Davis..

I don't think there are too many guys in the league that could regularly get 40 inches or above.

 

[SkywalkerAC]

every time vince gets his head up to the rim (fairly regularly considering game situations) he hops 41".

 

[JNice]

Yeah.. and that is about his max and he would need the right situation to be able to do that.. be warmed up, loose, pumped up, get a good footing, etc...

I'm not trying to mess with anybody here, I'm just saying people inflate player's verticals all the time... regularly saying a guy has like a 45 - 46 inch vertical... which almost always isnt true..

 

[SkywalkerAC]

it's all speculation. that's why i put vince at 43, the rim plus a couple inches at his peak, without ball jump.

 

[SkywalkerAC]

i've heard crazy numbers for kemp and jordan in their primes, around 48/49. seems a little ridiculous though.

 

[RollWithEm]

Spud Webb's was 46" in his prime. That is the highest I have ever heard of in the league. His second year in the NBA, Jordan's was measured at 42". From what I hear, Vince can get that high. James White's is aroun 39-40", and Stevie Franchise's is about 41".

 

[JNice]

Originally posted by <b>SkywalkerAC</b>!
i've heard crazy numbers for kemp and jordan in their primes, around 48/49. seems a little ridiculous though.

Those numbers are definitely not true.. especially Kemp. Imagine a 6'10" Kemp with a 4 foot vertical.. that would mean he could get his head like 9-10 inches above the rim.. not to mention his arms..

Kemp's i'm sure was pretty good, probably mid-30's, which is great for a guy his size..

Jordan's was more than likely in the low-40's during his best years..

I know Penny Hardaway's was at about 36 during his prime pre-injuries, and he was a pretty high flier then..

 

[Big John]

David Thompson

I recall reading in Sports Illustrated that David Thompson, before he hurt his knee, had a 48" vertical leap and could take a silver dollar off the top of the backboard

 

[Im The One]

Shawn Kemp in his prime was 40 or 41
i use to have a chart

 

[Chalie Boy]

Spud Webb is my uncle, and I asked him what his real vertical was at his best and he told me about 46" so RollWitem is right but it just seems like it was higher when you look at the pictures and see how high he was over the rim at 5'7 im 5'10 and i can barely get over the rim to dunk with a 38" vert. probably about 6 out of 10

 

[SkywalkerAC]

when it comes to one-foot jumping, it has to be james white of the florida gators. has taken off from well behind the free throw line. track and field long jumper. think keon clark and d-miles would make a pretty good high-jumpers.

 

[SkywalkerAC]

Originally posted by <b>RollWithEm</b>!
...and Stevie Franchise's is about 41".

pretty sure that this is an underestimate. getting his head to the rim, which i'm pretty sure he can do, gives him 45". also, he was measured in the contest (as inaccurate as it may have been) much higher than the others and they were getting up.