Sinkhole Vertical Leaps: 2009 Slam Dunk Contest

How high can the 2009 Slam Dunk contestants—J.R. Smith, Nate Robinson, Rudy Fernandez, and Dwight Howard—jump?

Truth is, it’s hard to say because it is difficult to believe any vertical jump / vertical leap data that's out there. But let’s pretend that all the vert data we find on the net is true. Here are the standing vertical leaps of the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk contestants:

Rudy Fernandez’s vertical leap: 120 cm

What does 120 centimeters mean to you inch-lovers? Well, it converts to 47 inches. Do I believe it? Not really. (That picture feature in the link above isn't helping his case.) I mean, his draft profile said that he needed to “work on his vertical leap.” So unless he really worked on it, I’m guessing it isn’t 47 inches (note: other pre-draft sites said he had a "nice" vertical, so clearly the information is conflicting). But maybe he surprises us during the contest and and makes some "so so awesome dunks." Sort of like how he surprised Dwight Howard on this play.

J.R. Smith's vertical leap: 44 inches

He’s a very good in-game dunker, and he supposedly had a 44 inch vertical coming out of high school.

Nate Robinson’s vertical leap: 43.5 inches

This is, of course, according to wikipedia. Incidentally, he also set the Washington state record in the 110 hurdles, keeping up his trend of playing sports that most short people avoid. Nate Robinson's official height (and I believe these numbers) is only 5 feet, 7.75 inches, and his standing reach is only 7 feet, 7.5 inches. So he has to jump almost three feet just to dunk the ball in a non-fancy way.

Dwight Howard’s vertical leap: 38 - 40 inches (and a standing reach of 9'3 1/2)

Fast forward to the 2:39 mark of this video to see Baby Dwight touching 80% of the way up the backboard.

Click here for more vertical leap information, as well video of some of the dunks Dwight Howard didn't get to use in the Slam Dunk Contest last year.

Sinkhole Vertical Leaps

Welcome "vertical leap" and "vertical jump" google searchers. If you are looking for a one-stop shopping list of some of the best vertical leapers and the answer to the question "how high can so-and-so jump," you've come to the right place. Before you leave, don't forget to check out the rest of the blog. It is a bit fantasy baseball focused, but perhaps you'll find something else fun to read. A recent post on the 2009 Slam Dunk contestants might be of interest.

Dwight Howard, who made the only memorable 2007 slam dunk contest dunk when he placed a sticker at the very top of the backboard before dunking, now has a video circulating on YouTube in which he kisses the rim before dunking.

After witnessing Dwight pucker up and kiss rim in mid-flight, I decided to catalogue as many vertical leaps as possible here in this post. I have listed the vertical leaps of a handful of athletes, but please remember that these are only ballpark figures. In the same way that many 5’11” basketball players are listed in programs as being 6’2”, accurate vertical numbers can be hard to obtain.

Note: A true vertical is measured from a standing jump. I assume that these figures were taken when these players were in their prime. I highly doubt that Kemp could jump out of a shoebox lid these days.

UPDATE: 2/9/09: Take these numbers with a grain of salt. As someone mentioned in the comment section, sometimes people like to use the running vert because it is higher, but a true vert is a standing vert. All the numbers below are supposed to be standing verts, but again, many of these numbers are more marketing than reality. Oh, and Lionel Marshall supposedly has a 50 inch vert, as this youtube clip shows. Sounds like a running vert to me, but the guy can clearly fly.

Oh, and if you're using these numbers to win a bet, I'm not sure this clinches it for you. I mean, seriously. This is a random blog quoting random sources from around the net, right? Heh, heh. Busted.

• 6’11” Dwight Howard: 38-40 inch vert, 12’6” jumping reach, 9'3 1/2 standing reach
• 6’8” 2007 NBA All Star Slam Dunk Champion Gerald Green: 46 to 48-inch vert
• 7’0” Andrew Bogut: 28-inch vert, can touch 9’2” while standing flatfooted
• Andre Iguodala 34-inch vert
• 6’7” Marvin Williams: 29-inch vert, has a wingspan of 7’3”
• 6’2” shooting guard Troy Bell: 41-inch vert
• Andre Iguodala: 34-inch vert
• J.J. Redick: 33-inch vert
• Vince Carter: 43-inch vert, 8'11" standing reach, 12'6" jumping reach
• Karl Malone: 28-inch vert, 9'2" standing reach, 11'6" jumping reach
• Shaq: 32-inch vert, 9'8" standing reach, 12'4" jumping reach
• Kobe Bryant: 38-inch vert, 8'10" standing reach, 12'0" jumping reach
• Steve Francis: 43-inch vert, 8'5" standing reach, 12'3" jumping reach
• Antonio McDyess: 42-inch vert
• Allen Iverson: 41-inch vert
• Shawn Kemp: 40-inch vert (Seattle)
• Rex Chapman: 39-inch vert
• Desmond Mason: 38-inch vert
• Lamar Odom: 32-inch vert
• Michael Jordan: 48-inch vert (Chicago), 8'10" standing reach, 12'5" jumping reach
• Dominique Wilkins: 42-inch vert, 9'0" standing reach, 12'6" jumping reach
• Larry Bird: 28-inch vert, 9'1" standing reach, 11'5" jumping reach
• Dr. J: 41-inch vert, 8'11" standing reach, 12'4" jumping reach
• Spudd Webb: 46-inch vert, 7'4" standing reach, 11'2" jumping reach
• Daryl Dawkins: 34-inch vert, 9'4" standing reach, 12'2" jumping reach
• Dee Brown: 44-inch vert
• Harold Miner: 44-inch vert
• Larry Nance: 40-inch vert
• Ralph Sampson: 36-inch vert
• Magic Johnson: 30-inch vert

Other High Vertical Leaps (Non-NBA)
• 5’10” Kadour Ziani (slamnation): 60-inch vert
• Michael Wilson (Globetrotters): 51-inch vert
• Reggie Thompson (Jumpsoles): 56-inch vert
• Ronnie Fields (CBA): 48-inch vert
• Melvin Levett: 45-inch vert
• A Zombie: 0-inch vert
• Me: at least a 13-inch vert (I can reach 7'5" and I just touched my 8'6" ceiling)

NFL
• Randy Moss: 51-inch vert
• Jevon Kearse 265 lbs: 40-inch vert

NCAA
• Brandon Dean: 39-inch vert

UPDATE 3/11/09: Anon is the comments section gave a good tip. Check out this "Golden Child" of TFB dunking here. He's got a strange dunking style, almost like he's too high and has to dunk the ball down from too far up...he looks like he's dunking on a nerf hoop over door frame, you know? What is TFB? It is all explained here.

(sources: here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

Other Reading(s):

NBA players that don't (can't) in-game dunk (according to youtube).

The complete list of female in-game dunks (according to youtube).