Michael Jordan's Vertical Revealed

[Hoopz2332]

inb4 15 pages of 3ball posting the image of Jordan's mouth below the rim and claiming it proves a 46" vert

[3ball]

we now have data from multiple first-hand sources and visual proof of jordan's 46 inch vertical.

i don't know what more you want...

[andgar923]

One would think that it takes more than a mere 38 inches to dunk from the ft line with rather ease and also hit one's head on the backboard on a block.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qjd...haelJordanZone

This is MJ past his jumping prime, and is easily jumping around the low-mid 30s in this jump shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5R4...nnel=youutoobe

[Dragonyeuw]

One would think that it takes more than a mere 38 inches to dunk from the ft line with rather ease and also hit one's head on the backboard on a block.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qjd...haelJordanZone

This is MJ past his jumping prime, and is easily jumping around the low-mid 30s in this jump shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5R4...nnel=youutoobe

Wow, and with literally zero momentum other than a hop step.

[Inactive]

Verts are measured from standstill, not running...and they didn't even test it that way? That info sounds just as dubious.

It appears to be legit; it's from http://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.1999.29.1.A1 .

His running max vert would be the second highest ever measured at the draft combine. http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-...ce=All&sort=12

[OldSchoolBBall]

Jordan definitely had more than a 38" vert - that's a joke, and is definitely just a guy trying to hype his training program. I'd estimate he had a 41-43" vert. I definitely believe that today's athletes are able to maximize and improve their vert due to the training programs in place. Hard as it is to believe, Jordan would have been an even BETTER leaper today.

[DonDadda59]

That's without a basketball..

Since when are verticals measured with a basketball?

[DatAsh]

It appears to be legit; it's from http://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.1999.29.1.A1 .

His running max vert would be the second highest ever measured at the draft combine. http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-...ce=All&sort=12

Interesting.

Too bad people will ignore this to push whatever agenda they're trying to push.

[Elosha]

I don't know...that looks rather official. Id trust those numbers(if not made up last week) over anyones estimates.

And verts have been measured many ways. A lot of people go ith one step vertical. The NBA did for a while. They listed Antoinio Mcdyess with an official 47 inch vertical on his league page back in the day off a one step test.

Really....people want to know how high you can get up. If a guy has a 40 inch vertical on the move im not mad if he claims he can jump 40 inches.

Playing basketball...hes probably gonna be moving when he jumps isn't he? Not like people just explode 40 inches on stand still rebounds or blocks on a regular basis.

I agree, the numbers seem quite specific and perhaps trustworthy. Moreover, they seem right in line with what we could see from Jordan's max vertical during the 80's and early 90's. I also posted several additional pictures in the Lebron vertical thread that pretty clearly showed his head over the rim, suggesting a 43-45 inch max vertical. There's no visual evidence whatsoever that he had a 48 inch vertical, (the rookie pic 3ball posts shows a very high jump but not 6 inches over the rim) but arguing that he had only a 39-40 inch vertical is equally inaccurate.

Jordan and Lebron have equivalent vertical leaps in my opinion. However, in comparing them, the differences are: (1) Lebron ultimately gets higher off one foot primarily because of his 2-3 inch height advantage and corresponding reach advantage and (2) Jordan has a different kind of leaping advantage in that he could approach max vertical leap off both one and two feet, whereas Lebron is somewhat less explosive off one foot, although still fairly good.

[eliteballer]

RESULTS:=20
Maximum measurements:=20
Vertical reach while standing flat-footed 93.67 in.
Floor to pelvic crest while standing 49.00 in.
Vertical reach displacement during a jump from standing 35.93 in.
Vertical displacement of the pelvis during a jump from running 38.07 in.
Vertical velocity during a jump from running 701.00 o/sec.=20
Vertical reach displacement during a jump from running 45.76 in.
Vertical reach displacement during a 1 hand dunk 41.70 in.
Vertical reach displacement during a 2 hand dunk 40.93 in.

Can't believe I overlooked the bolded. So his vert at UNC was 36.

[eliteballer]

It appears to be legit; it's from http://www.jospt.org/doi/pdf/10.2519/jospt.1999.29.1.A1 .

What page?

[SHAQisGOAT]

Like I've said in the LeBron thread:



Around 37-40 inches.. IMO just shy of 40. Not LeBron level, but still very elite. But of course MJ fans will try to discredit Tim Grover.

Those shitty "estimates" then made in paint, supposed to be a joke or something??

If not...

1st of all dude was jumping sideways, then that's most likely not even the peak of his jump, and you don't even measure verticals with/dunking the ball... Oh, and paint

From everything I've seen, pretty clear that MJ had a vertical in the mid-40's or something... And remember that Jordan was not even a legit 6'6''.

[jstern]

It's amazing how much we have advance in the last two decades. To think that Michael Jordan wouldn't get drafted in the top in this era with this leaping ability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD54...etailpage#t=17

[Elosha]

Here's three instances where Jordan is arguably 42 or more inches on dunks.

The first is a famous alley-oop in NY in 1988:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwoWl...tailpage#t=265.

If you pause at the apex of his jump at 4:29, which when his head is closest to the rim and right before he ducks his head and dunks, it looks like his head is even with the top of the rim.

The second is a rarely seen angle of Jordan's 1988 free throw line dunk. If you pause at 4 seconds, it's pretty clear the top of his head is slightly higher than the rim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLdxQ-_J9FI

The last jump is more ambiguous due to the angle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fVAZ...ailpage#t=1080

This game is from November 1992 against Golden State. While it appears that his head is maybe an inch or two above the rim, the angle likely inflates it somewhat. So my guess is that he was near the rim, but at most even with it or perhaps just under it. Still, given how he soars over the challenging defender, it gives a pretty good idea of how explosive a leaper he was off of two feet.

[oarabbus]

even if you don't think he is mouth-level, you can't deny that his eyes clear the rim easily.

we now have data from multiple first-hand sources and visual proof of jordan's 46 inch vertical.

i don't know what more you want...