Kobe = best dunker

[jjayfive]

i've always felt kobe had decent to good vert.. he's not elite.. however, he was very good at breaking down his defender and getting open for the dunk.. he's in game dunks were better than his vertical would imply..

[swi7ch]

how can you not say vince carter?

[macpierce]

im not sure what you guys qualify as elite vertical, I mean if youre gonna say anyone who jumps over 40 inches is "elite" then there are only maybe 5 dudes you would even mention

Kobe does, I mean did jump very high when he was younger, most of you guys have selective amnesia

[LT Ice Cream]

Yes, we can all agree that 38" vertical (but almost definitely higher than that) is a low vertical

[ukplayer4]

kobe was a great in game dunker, regardless of his vert.


that said, the idea he or anyone else in the history of the game is even near vinces level is laughable, just

in 1000 years time when a 7.5 400llb lebron with a 70 inch verticle is doing 1080's 3times between the legs on big men those dunks still wont be as awesome as vince carters dunks. vince just took the beauty of dunking to higher levels than it had ever been before. he also took the creativity of it another step and his finishes on people were the best ever. its not even a debatable imo vince was in a league of his own.

[Ballin']

kobe was a great in game dunker, regardless of his vert.


that said, the idea he or anyone else in the history of the game is even near vinces level is laughable, just

in 1000 years time when a 7.5 400llb lebron with a 70 inch verticle is doing 1080's 3times between the legs on big men those dunks still wont be as awesome as vince carters dunks. vince just took the beauty of dunking to higher levels than it had ever been before. he also took the creativity of it another step and his finishes on people were the best ever. its not even a debatable imo vince was in a league of his own.

Ahem....Dominique....

[Rake2204]

I thought of my example (a good dunker without much in the way of relative hops): Paul Pierce. Many times, particularly in the last few years, I'd see him attack and thought there was no chance he was going to be high enough to flush but he would, often with great authority.

[eliteballer]

Kobe was 17 years old when he was drafted.

If his vertical then was indeed measured at 38-39 inches at that point there's NO DOUBT it increased to 40+ later on.

[andgar923]

Are you seriously that deluded that you can't see that is a computer manipulated video? Seriously. He's not even on that actual court...

Furthermore, you're insinuating that he can free throw line dunk from a run up just at half court. Jordan couldn't do that when he was 21, let alone old Jordan.

I'm gonna say Kobe had a max 39 inch vertical, and Jordan had about a 42.5 inch vertical tops. That's significant. That's essentially 0.1m. A big difference.
Jordan sure as hell didn't come close to 48 inches. Ever.

I mentioned "I believe" because unless I'm completely mistaken, I didn't think that dunk was real either but somebody posted the making of that dunk. Cameras were added all around him to capture it the way it is.

I forgot who posted the vid but I didn't believe it either.