Spud Webb - highest vertical in league history?

[millwad]

Watching Spud dunk and jump is just crazy, the air he had under his feet was just amazing.. He must have had the highest vertical in league history, right?

http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2006/10/04/0000446911/spudwebb.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7u8JMVhBk0k/TF77rvha7zI/AAAAAAAAAT0/--lpWe3blHk/s1600/manute-bol-spud-webb.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ART-PRINT-Poster-Spud-Webb-Jumping-Above-Larry-Bird-/01/!BcbBq!!!2k~$(KGrHqUOKjUEq5KtgYCEBK0e-O46lQ~~_3.JPG

[Bigsmoke]

Nate Robinson

[Deuce Bigalow]

no, Wilt had a 50" vertical

lol

[PTB Fan]

He certainly had one of the highest verticals in league history for sure.

[bwink23]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JILq5kDjZiM

At 1:23, Spud Webb dunks in-game from just inside the dotted circle....SICK :rockon:

[millwad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JILq5kDjZiM

At 1:23, Spud Webb dunks in-game from just inside the dotted circle....SICK :rockon:

Haha, look how high his head is a la the last dunk..

[Psileas]

If we're talking about players who played even 1 single second in the league, James White has to be a candidate. There's that famous video of him trying to touch the top of the backboard and coming as close as almost anyone I've ever seen (maybe 2 inches away). If his standing reach is 9 feet, this would bring his max vertical at around 46 inches. Does anyone know his actual reach?

[jrong]

I still have a Spud Webb basketball instructional video somewhere at my parents' house. It wasn't very good.

[swi7ch]

isn't he in the guiness book of world records?

[Clippersfan86]

Yes. He's listed at having the highest NBA vertical ever in the record book. It's nearly 47". I think that new Blazers player has an equal vert though.

[Orlando Magic]

If we're talking about players who played even 1 single second in the league, James White has to be a candidate. There's that famous video of him trying to touch the top of the backboard and coming as close as almost anyone I've ever seen (maybe 2 inches away). If his standing reach is 9 feet, this would bring his max vertical at around 46 inches. Does anyone know his actual reach?

The angle from the bottom makes him appear to reach higher. He probably wasn't higher than 12'6".

[Pointguard]

Haha, look how high his head is a la the last dunk..
Yeah cause we are amused when even Blake's head hits the backboard... yet Spudd was doing it all the time. Well actually for him to dunk with his small arms he had to get that high. Spudd was really small about 5'5 in the street. I've been to after games where people started munching his head because they were more or less shocked at how small he was. Well that and the fact they were probably unstable in their own heads.

[Psileas]

The angle from the bottom makes him appear to reach higher. He probably wasn't higher than 12'6".


Forget for the moment that video and watch this - both his hand and his head:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vO8o-zL_Q

I think it becomes clearer now that he could definitely touch higher than 12'6.

[millwad]

Yeah cause we are amused when even Blake's head hits the backboard... yet Spudd was doing it all the time. Well actually for him to dunk with his small arms he had to get that high. Spudd was really small about 5'5 in the street. I've been to after games where people started munching his head because they were more or less shocked at how small he was. Well that and the fact they were probably unstable in their own heads.

Isn't it scary thinking how high he would have reached with a "normal" NBA guard body? I'd love to see some games from Spud's prime, at his statistical best he averaged 16 points (45% shooting), 7 assists, 1.5 steals and 3 rebounds during the '92 season which is really impressive considering his height.

[Rake2204]

If we're talking about players who played even 1 single second in the league, James White has to be a candidate. There's that famous video of him trying to touch the top of the backboard and coming as close as almost anyone I've ever seen (maybe 2 inches away). If his standing reach is 9 feet, this would bring his max vertical at around 46 inches. Does anyone know his actual reach?
I can't find any solid information on White's standing reach. In a thread a few years ago, someone claimed it was 8'9'' (post #17): http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71708&page=2

Here's another White clip. I find you can gain more from looking at the space between his feet and the ground rather than looking at his head in accordance to the rim. It's that dreaded low angle, the one I see a guy around here post pictures of LeBron James from, so nearly every jump looks rim level just because of the angle. Another more accurate way to gauge things is how horizontal his arm is at the time of his finish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7yehtLJHE&feature=player_embedded#!

[millwad]

I can't find any solid information on White's standing reach. In a thread a few years ago, someone claimed it was 8'9'' (post #17): http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71708&page=2

Here's another White clip. I find you can gain more from looking at the space between his feet and the ground rather than looking at his head in accordance to the rim. It's that dreaded low angle, the one I see a guy around here post pictures of LeBron James from, so nearly every jump looks rim level just because of the angle. Another more accurate way to gauge things is how horizontal his arm is at the time of his finish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7yehtLJHE&feature=player_embedded#!

Wow... :bowdown:

[PTB Fan]

Having the highest listed vertical jump in NBA History can give the chance to still dunk even at the age of 47.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk-t2HnXfy4

:bowdown: :bowdown:

[Psileas]

I can't find any solid information on White's standing reach. In a thread a few years ago, someone claimed it was 8'9'' (post #17): http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71708&page=2

Here's another White clip. I find you can gain more from looking at the space between his feet and the ground rather than looking at his head in accordance to the rim. It's that dreaded low angle, the one I see a guy around here post pictures of LeBron James from, so nearly every jump looks rim level just because of the angle. Another more accurate way to gauge things is how horizontal his arm is at the time of his finish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7yehtLJHE&feature=player_embedded#!

First this, second, you can't judge from the backboard either, it's smaller than the normal NBA ones.

[Maga_1]

Elliot Williams - Portland

[brownmamba00]

Having the highest listed vertical jump in NBA History can give the chance to still dunk even at the age of 47.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk-t2HnXfy4

:bowdown: :bowdown:
you know that's fake right?

[Rake2204]

I was reading an old SI article by Rick Telander from Webb's college days. Here's his take on Webb's vertical:
Still, it comes down to that launching power. Forty dunks? Goaltending? Good gosh! To find out what Webb could really do, I took it upon myself to measure his vertical leap. I tested him after Midland finished a long scrimmage with Sul Ross State at Midland's Chaparral Center arena in late October. Spud was exhausted and the gym floor is very hard, but he jumped 41 inches straight up and 48 inches after taking a short run. There is every reason to believe that when the adrenaline is flowing and Webb is rested, he can go even higher. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1126173/3/index.htm

[-23-]

Wilt Chamberlain - 50 inches. Straight from the horses mouth.

[Xiao Yao You]

Darrell Griffith was supposed to be 48 or 50.

[fpliii]

David Thompson deserves a mention

[DCL]

whenever a dude has a 40" vert, it always gets exaggerated like it's 45" or 46".

it's almost as bad as 6'9" dudes claiming to be 7-footers.

[Rake2204]

whenever a dude has a 40" vert, it always gets exaggerated like it's 45" or 46".

it's almost as bad as 6'9" dudes claiming to be 7-footers.I've found this to often be true. I always feel like it has to do with the lack of clarity as to whether someone's referring to a true vertical, one step vertical, or maximum vert (via running start). That aside, I think some people like boosting numbers in a mythical fashion regardless.

For instance, I'm familiar with that famous Darrell Griffith photo (the one below):

http://madeira.hccanet.org/project2_2012/westendorf_p2/griffith-2841624343_a40eb5e12c_display_image.jpg

Maybe we can talk angles or this or that but as high as he looks, can we really safely say that's four feet off the ground? A 50'' vertical on the 6'4'' Griffith would mean he would have been able to bite the rim, and I just haven't seen any clips to suggest he were ever close, even in his prime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bAkaSw_sYY

That doesn't mean he couldn't jump. Griffith could fly. I just tend to agree that great leapers often reap the benefit of unrealistic boosts to their jumping numbers.