NBA average vertical leap is...

[eliteballer]

28 inches according to ESPN. I thought it would be higher.

[KG5MVP]

28 inches according to ESPN. I thought it would be higher.

u got players like yao ming and kevin garnett dragging down the average

[Rake2204]

I'm slightly above average!

[Swaggin916]

It's better to look at it by position:

No step vert

PG: 29.4
SG: 29.7
SF: 29.7
PF: 28.5
C: 26.8

Max vert:

PG: 34.9
SG: 35
SF: 34.5
PF: 32.8
C: 30.7

Basketball, despite being a very explosive plyometric activity, is an endurance game as well so bball players verts won't be as high as football players... also a lot of basketball players don't train for explosion so that's another thing. Every football player trains for explosion so their verts and 40 times are about as good as they can possibly get.

What separates bball players are their wingspans and vertical reaches.

[m y t i n]

is a 30 inch vertical alright?

[BIG_MIKE_27]

and the average vert of a kangaroo is 96 inches! :D

... dont know why i know that!

[Myth]

Jesus, thats it? I had a 38-40 vert at my peak. My no step was slightly over 30, but I can't remember it exactly.

[phoenix18]

Jesus, thats it? I had a 38-40 vert at my peak. My no step was slightly over 30, but I can't remember it exactly.
You have to remember that this is an average. There a lot of players who are practically done that are included in those measurements.

My max was a 34, but I NEVER trained. To this day, I hate exercising just to exercise.

[jstern]

That must be the average standing vertical.

[PistonsFan#21]

Mine is 35 inches running. Im only 5'8" though so i need about 4 inches to dunk it

[ShaqAttack3234]

I'm good for about 36 max, maybe higher if I worked out more and didn't have knee injuries. But I'm only 5'8" so I can't dunk.

This is why it's laughable that people act like Kobe wasn't athletic in his prime. His max vert was in the upper 30's.

[Swaggin916]

You have to remember that this is an average. There a lot of players who are practically done that are included in those measurements.

My max was a 34, but I NEVER trained. To this day, I hate exercising just to exercise.

No it's not... the guys are tested at the combine so they are essentially in their athletic prime.

I find it hard to believe that your guy's verts are as high as you say especially if you haven't trained. Before I trained I was at about 31 (running) and was squatting over 300... and I was jumping higher than most people on the floor (not much higher but definitely higher). When I got it up to 34 I was jumping higher than almost everyone. My dude has a 37" vert and he is jumping way higher than anyone on the floor 9 times out of 10... So are you guys all a bunch of athletes or are you overestimating your vert? A lot of people overestimate their vert... they think because they can wrap their fingers around the rim that they have a 35 inch vert (At 5'8 that might actually be the case tho taking your reach into consideration).

[Luigi]

Can't teach height.

[O.J A 6'4Mamba]

Also the NBA Max vertical isn't a running vertical. That's the big misconception. They just take one step and explode up with 2 feet, what the pre draft camp and youll see. That begin said I believe Nick Young of the Wizards has the highest standing vertical jump recording at the combine in the NBA with 39 inches.

[magnax1]

Just standing, right? Mine was only 18 standing, and 25 movings. Pretty sad....

[enayes]

You have to remember that these guys are all HUGE and are jumping that high, I feel like that has a lot to do with it, it's harder to jump if you have more weight.

I am 5'9 and can grab rim, For me to be able to touch the rim my vert would need to be 31"(my reach is 7' 5), so I would estimate my running vertical to be around 33". I rebound very well, and get comments about how I can jump. My standing vertical would be a lot lower, prob 7"+. I don't "train", just run and do a lot of sports.

[PistonsFan#21]

No it's not... the guys are tested at the combine so they are essentially in their athletic prime.

I find it hard to believe that your guy's verts are as high as you say especially if you haven't trained. Before I trained I was at about 31 (running) and was squatting over 300... and I was jumping higher than most people on the floor (not much higher but definitely higher). When I got it up to 34 I was jumping higher than almost everyone. My dude has a 37" vert and he is jumping way higher than anyone on the floor 9 times out of 10... So are you guys all a bunch of athletes or are you overestimating your vert? A lot of people overestimate their vert... they think because they can wrap their fingers around the rim that they have a 35 inch vert (At 5'8 that might actually be the case tho taking your reach into consideration).

I dont know if it was directed toward me but yes i can hang on the rim pretty easily. I can also almost grab it stand still on a good day.

[Rake2204]

No it's not... the guys are tested at the combine so they are essentially in their athletic prime.

I find it hard to believe that your guy's verts are as high as you say especially if you haven't trained. Before I trained I was at about 31 (running) and was squatting over 300... and I was jumping higher than most people on the floor (not much higher but definitely higher). When I got it up to 34 I was jumping higher than almost everyone. My dude has a 37" vert and he is jumping way higher than anyone on the floor 9 times out of 10... So are you guys all a bunch of athletes or are you overestimating your vert? A lot of people overestimate their vert... they think because they can wrap their fingers around the rim that they have a 35 inch vert (At 5'8 that might actually be the case tho taking your reach into consideration).
I'm with ya there. My standing was officially measured at 29.5. . .which seemed low to me at the time (until I realized I was actually right about where I should be). There was another player trying out at the camp who had a 37'' standing and he could absolutely, positively soar through the air. I think it is easy for many to throw out numbers that might be associated with a two-step max and a running max then portray them as standing verts.

[Tha Catalyst]

Just standing, right? Mine was only 18 standing, and 25 movings. Pretty sad....
Hey at least your being honest with your vert. According to this thread the average vert. of ISH posters is about 35 inches. Not saying that lies are being thrown around just seems highly unlikely. When you consider height/weight/wingspan on NBA athletes I don't find the average to be unimpressive.

[T_Element]

Mine is 36 (I can dunk a volleyball and almost two hand a basketball) but I imagine there are a few guys in the league who really bring the average down.

[Swaggin916]

You have to remember that these guys are all HUGE and are jumping that high, I feel like that has a lot to do with it, it's harder to jump if you have more weight.

I am 5'9 and can grab rim, For me to be able to touch the rim my vert would need to be 31"(my reach is 7' 5), so I would estimate my running vertical to be around 33". I rebound very well, and get comments about how I can jump. My standing vertical would be a lot lower, prob 7"+. I don't "train", just run and do a lot of sports.

See that's what I'm saying... That is normal for most people. If you don't lift, then your standing vert will most likely suck, but if you are active and play bball a lot and do other things, your running vert will most likely be pretty good. Because I lifted, my standing vert was 31. but my running was only 3 inches higher at 34 inches. I rely a lot more on my strength whereas people who don't lift will rely on the elastic components of their tendons... which is only going to take you so far. For most people who are active that number seems to be a bit above 30 inches. So all you 35 inch guys, either you are gifted, lifting weights, or lying.

[Myth]

You have to remember that this is an average. There a lot of players who are practically done that are included in those measurements.

My max was a 34, but I NEVER trained. To this day, I hate exercising just to exercise.

What I was surprised by though was the verticals of PGs, SGs, and SFs. I would imagine the average guys at those positions should be able to be closer to jumping as high as I did at my peak. The PFs and Centers I understand due to guys like Yao and Z bringing it down, but the guards? I'm still shocked at their average verts.

[Myth]

I find it hard to believe that your guy's verts are as high as you say especially if you haven't trained. Before I trained I was at about 31 (running) and was squatting over 300... and I was jumping higher than most people on the floor (not much higher but definitely higher). When I got it up to 34 I was jumping higher than almost everyone. My dude has a 37" vert and he is jumping way higher than anyone on the floor 9 times out of 10... So are you guys all a bunch of athletes or are you overestimating your vert? A lot of people overestimate their vert... they think because they can wrap their fingers around the rim that they have a 35 inch vert (At 5'8 that might actually be the case tho taking your reach into consideration).

I was a sprinter for about 8 years, and floated around 36-37 inches in season (this was measured on several occasions, not simply guessing). After my 6th season (when I was 20), I could grab the rim quite easily and knew I was close to dunking (I'm 5'8.5" btw). I also knew I had about 3 months off from sprint training, thus I used that time dedicating myself to plyometrics. By the end of the summer, I was able to dunk.... barely (completed 2 out of about 300 attempts, lol). I never had my peak jump measured, but I knew it was higher by at least a couple of inches judging on how my elevation was compared to where I could get my hand on the rim (went from about mid palm on the rim to the wrist on the rim). Thats how I am aware it was roughly 38-40 inches.