How old were you when you first dunked?

[KungFuJoe]

18 years old...senior in high school. Was probably 6'1", 160lbs soaking wet at the time. Used to dream about dunking since I started playing basketball. One day, during practice, we were doing layup drills and, for some reason, I felt "different". Decided to go for it and did a basic two hand dunk off two feet. No Sprite commercial.

At my utmost peak, at about 6'2", I probably had a vert of 34 inches and could reach a height of 10' 11" (had one of those vert measuring things at a college I went to). Had some nice posters in my day. These days, I can barely touch the rim, but definitely some fond memories.

[kennethgriffin]

15 or 16

haven't been able to do it since i was 23 or 24 though

[taucesays]

13 years old...8th grader in middle school. Was probably 5'2", 130lbs soaking wet at the time. Used to think about dunking since I started playing basketball. One day, before a game, we were doing layup drills and, for some reason, I felt "different". Decided to go for it and did a basic 360-dunk off two feet. No Sprite commercial.

At my utmost peak, at about 7'5", I probably had a vert of 44 inches and could reach a height of 13' 11" (had one of those vert measuring things at a Curves I go to). Had some nice posters in my day. These days, I can barely find my balls, but definitely some fond memories.

[outbreak]

At my peak I could touch the back board. About as good as it got for me lol.

[G-train]

14 years old, 6'4. Basic one hand dunk.

[bdreason]

Dunked on 10' for the first time the summer before I started high school, so I was 13/14 (bday in July).

[d.bball.guy]

On a 10' rim? Around 6 years old.

[Rake2204]

I know my story doesn't bode well because there's already been at least one other young dunker story so far and that's usually enough to bring out the folks who sarcastically talk about how everyone on this board must be NBA prospects with our outlandish stories and whatnot, but...

My first dunk came in the fall of the freshman year of high school. I was about 5'11'' and 14 years old. It came at an open gym where a freshmen classmate of mine was trying to dunk in front of the varsity players. He was more or less doing the thing where he'd jump then lose all control of the ball, throwing it off the backboard as he grabbed the rim, creating the illusion that he was "so" close to dunking. I was jealous of the attention he was getting though, so I laced up my shoes (I'd just arrived) and went over to give it a shot myself.

I can't remember if I did it on my first or second try, but it was a moment permanently imprinted upon my brain. I think the adrenaline boost from having so many onlookers is what put me over the top. It was a one handed dunk coming from the left wing. After a flushed, everyone freaked out and a 6'7'' senior grabbed me and excitedly yelled to his coach about how I'd just dunked, but the coach just figured he was joking and walked away laughing. I remember people were giving me high fives all throughout the open gym and the next day at school all sorts of non-basketball playing friends were coming up and asking if the rumors were true about me dunking. It was pretty legit moment for me at the time.

[fsvr54]

**** you guys, full grown man here and I was never tall enough to dunk.:cry:

[Brick Rick]

I'm 33. Still working on it. I need another 15 inches on my vert to dunk it.

[NYK_Stan]

17, 5'11 in shoes and 135lbs and I still haven't dunked.

Kinda weird since I'm really fast and have good explosion on the ground. I just have problems jumping :confusedshrug: and tiny arms lol (touched rim once tho... felt nice :banana: )

[KyrieTheFuture]

Never even close

[G-train]

17, 5'11 in shoes and 135lbs and I still haven't dunked.

Kinda weird since I'm really fast and have good explosion on the ground. I just have problems jumping :confusedshrug: and tiny arms lol (touched rim once tho... felt nice :banana: )

At 5'9 its pretty normal to have never dunked.

[chips93]

At my peak I could touch the back board. About as good as it got for me lol.


this

[Derka]

16 and I only managed to do it once because I couldn't palm the ball unless the grip was super, super tacky.

Edit: I'm 5'10" Tons of leg and calf workouts from playing baseball year round and being about 50 lbs lighter helped pull off my only dunk.

[G-Funk]

Five


http://mvnazarenesports.webs.com/BasketballDunkKidSmall.jpg

[scandisk_]

I can't even touch the rim, forget about dunking

:roll: :roll: :roll:

[ImmortalD24]

14ish

[FireDavidKahn]

I'm a 6'0 white guy, I can't dunk.

[KungFuJoe]

I know my story doesn't bode well because there's already been at least one other young dunker story so far and that's usually enough to bring out the folks who sarcastically talk about how everyone on this board must be NBA prospects with our outlandish stories and whatnot, but...

My first dunk came in the fall of the freshman year of high school. I was about 5'11'' and 14 years old. It came at an open gym where a freshmen classmate of mine was trying to dunk in front of the varsity players. He was more or less doing the thing where he'd jump then lose all control of the ball, throwing it off the backboard as he grabbed the rim, creating the illusion that he was "so" close to dunking. I was jealous of the attention he was getting though, so I laced up my shoes (I'd just arrived) and went over to give it a shot myself.

I can't remember if I did it on my first or second try, but it was a moment permanently imprinted upon my brain. I think the adrenaline boost from having so many onlookers is what put me over the top. It was a one handed dunk coming from the left wing. After a flushed, everyone freaked out and a 6'7'' senior grabbed me and excitedly yelled to his coach about how I'd just dunked, but the coach just figured he was joking and walked away laughing. I remember people were giving me high fives all throughout the open gym and the next day at school all sorts of non-basketball playing friends were coming up and asking if the rumors were true about me dunking. It was pretty legit moment for me at the time.

Hahaha...damn. THIS was me before I could dunk.

[KungFuJoe]

I'm a 6'0 white guy, I can't dunk.

I'm half white/asian but I get all my basketball skills/hops from my dad, who is white. In high school, he was 6 feet tall and could stand underneath the rim, and jump straight up without taking a step and dunk the ball.

[avonbarksdale]

5'11 white guy not really athletic, im ok at ball but idk if its possible for me to drunk haha

[PP34Deuce]

I was 16. Height was 6 3 . Nothin special but I have long arms so it wasnt really great leap.

Im 6 6 now at 25 and I do it easy. But my wingspan is 6 11 so dont need a lot of bounce,to dunk.

[lilgodfather1]

I'm almost 6'4", can't dunk though. 6'6" wingspan, just not vertical to speak of lol.

I must have terrible form jumping or something. I can squat three times my body weight 4 times give or take.

[NASH = BEST]

I've never been able to dunk, and to be honest I suck at playing basketball in general. I can't shoot the damn ball for shyt, and foul too much on D.

Anyways I was 15 years old when I first got dunked on by a 13 year old. I was embarrassed to say the least.

:oldlol:

[avonbarksdale]

are most of you guys who can dunk black? serious question

[kennethgriffin]

"27 years old" - Chris Paul

[outbreak]

are most of you guys who can dunk black? serious question

I think their brown because their so full of sh*t

[Rake2204]

are most of you guys who can dunk black? serious questionObviously I cannot speak for everyone else, but I am not black. I've always found it a little silly when I heard certain people say they can't dunk because they're white. Most of the time they're joking and making light of the situation but every now and again, I'm wondering if some really believe that's the reason they can't jump.

[ihoopallday]

:lol I'm 5'7 and I'm not even close to dunking. I can touch the net though

[KungFuJoe]

Obviously I cannot speak for everyone else, but I am not black. I've always found it a little silly when I heard certain people say they can't dunk because they're white. Most of the time they're joking and making light of the situation but every now and again, I'm wondering if some really believe that's the reason they can't jump.

Well...not to stir up any stereotypes, but I can tell you from my experience growing up playing ball...pretty much all the dunkers/leapers were black. There were some guys like myself who could leap as well, but we were anomalies. Don't get me wrong...I enjoyed it. No one ever saw me coming. I look like I could barely walk, much less ball or dunk so when I got one in a game, people were like "damn look at this white boy!".

[Replay32]

16 years old (1993). 5'10". I had to be around 150lbs back then. The summer going into my Junior year in the layup line at the beginning of practice.

[lilgodfather1]

Obviously I cannot speak for everyone else, but I am not black. I've always found it a little silly when I heard certain people say they can't dunk because they're white. Most of the time they're joking and making light of the situation but every now and again, I'm wondering if some really believe that's the reason they can't jump.
Technically, if you didn't know this then i'm not trying to make you out to be an idiot or anything, but there is a difference between black people and white people genetically speaking.

Not the colour of skin, although that is an obvious one lol. I mean in terms of the type of muscles we have. Black people in general have more fast twitch muscle fibres than white people do, and therefore it makes short burst energy easier for them, where as white people tend to have more slow twitch fibres making endurance movements easier for us.

Of course there are exceptions. Also I believe there is a difference in hips that allows black people to have a longer stride because they can open up their hips more tha white people.

Not saying that makes "being white" a legitimate reason for not being able to dunk, but we do have differences other than skin colour.

[A Roc 23]

I'm pretty sure I was 16 (or around there). 6'1'' (in shoes). We had practice at 4:00 PM and school ended up 3:45, so those of us who were tall enough spent the 10-15 minutes until the coach got there trying to dunk.

I could dunk a volleyball at 14, but it took me the extra 2 years to get the grip and technique down (I always tried to take off too early. Even when my friends told me that I had trouble correcting it and still getting the height).

I have never dunked in a game. I tried a few times and I either threw it off the back of the rim or it slipped out of my hand and turned into a weird lay up.

Our star player was throwing down in game dunks as a 5'9'' 14 year old. By 16 he was dunking 1-2 times a game as a 6' PG.

[bmulls]

ISH, where every guy 6'0 and under can dunk

I'm 5'10 and my best was finger tips on the rim

[Rake2204]

ISH, where every guy 6'0 and under can dunk

I'm 5'10 and my best was finger tips on the rimHa, I feel where you're coming from since I'm certain there's always going to be someone who lies, but almost the entire second page was made up of guys admitting they're not even close to dunking.

[millwad]

I was 13 and I had my first in game dunk when I was 14, I was really tall for my age though and I played ball 24/7.

[KOBE143]

Im 7'0 black guy with 7'7 wingspan and I cant dunk or cant even touch the ring.. Dunno what's wrong with me? :confusedshrug:

[plowking]

I was 16. Height was 6 3 . Nothin special but I have long arms so it wasnt really great leap.

Im 6 6 now at 25 and I do it easy. But my wingspan is 6 11 so dont need a lot of bounce,to dunk.

Lucky bro. My wingspan is the same as my height; 6'3. I looked a lot like Harold Miner trying to do my dunks since I had to get up with somewhat shorter arms.

To answer the question, about 15 at somewhere around 6 foot.

[Rake2204]

Lucky bro. My wingspan is the same as my height; 6'3. I looked a lot like Harold Miner trying to do my dunks since I had to get up with somewhat shorter arms.

To answer the question, about 15 at somewhere around 6 foot.Same here. I'm 6'3'' and my wingspan is also very comparable to my height. I used to compare my vertical to that of players in the Draft Combine. I'd fit right in. Then I'd look at the maximum reach numbers. I remember Sherron Collins was the only guy I could possibly outreach. Nearly every other prospect was reaching 11' or more. I suppose I've made due as it is.

[NumberSix]

12 or 13.

[plowking]

Same here. I'm 6'3'' and my wingspan is also very comparable to my height. I used to compare my vertical to that of players in the Draft Combine. I'd fit right in. Then I'd look at the maximum reach numbers. I remember Sherron Collins was the only guy I could possibly outreach. Nearly every other prospect was reaching 11' or more. I suppose I've made due as it is.

Yeah, I just remember seeing Wade having a 35.5 inch vertical at the draft, and when I was 17/18 years old and dunking at my best, I was wondering why I can't get up and dunk as easily as he could, seeing as we are the same height (him being maybe an inch taller). I completely forgot to factor in that he had a 6'11 wingspan, compared to my 6'2 or 6'3 wingspan... :oldlol:

Saying that though, I just went back and watched the 93 dunk contest. I could do every dunk Miner did to win that thing apart from the 360 windmill at the end, which he didn't even need to win the thing...

[swi7ch]

I'm Asian so never.

[Bandito]

I was like 16 or 15 when I first dunk. I use to play volleyball so I was good at jumping but I suck at basketball though...

[SourPatchKids]

I was 13 and I had my first in game dunk when I was 14, I was really tall for my age though and I played ball 24/7.
Your so full of shit it's ridiculous.

[Bandito]

12 or 13.
No way I can't believe you can dunk. You have way more posts than me and I've been here for awhile.


Im 7'0 black guy with 7'7 wingspan and I cant dunk or cant even touch the ring.. Dunno what's wrong with me?What's wrong with you is that you are a liar.

[NumberSix]

Yeah, I just remember seeing Wade having a 35.5 inch vertical at the draft, and when I was 17/18 years old and dunking at my best, I was wondering why I can't get up and dunk as easily as he could, seeing as we are the same height (him being maybe an inch taller). I completely forgot to factor in that he had a 6'11 wingspan, compared to my 6'2 or 6'3 wingspan... :oldlol:

Saying that though, I just went back and watched the 93 dunk contest. I could do every dunk Miner did to win that thing apart from the 360 windmill at the end, which he didn't even need to win the thing...
Isn't it abnormal for your wingspan to be equal to your height? I thought every human had a wingspan significantly greater than their height.

[NumberSix]

No way I can't believe you can dunk. You have way more posts than me and I've been here for awhile.
What does one have to do with the other?

[Rake2204]

Isn't it abnormal for your wingspan to be equal to your height? I thought every human had a wingspan significantly greater than their height.Hmm, I did not know that. I just took a look at my measurements. My wingspan was recorded as 74 inches (6 feet 2 inches) and my standing reach is 95 inches (7 feet 11 inches). My barefoot height is just about 6'3''. So, this is pretty much me....

http://www.carstickers.com/prodimages/2943_tyrannosaurus_rex_dinosaur_playing_basketball _sticker_decal.jpg

[plowking]

Isn't it abnormal for your wingspan to be equal to your height? I thought every human had a wingspan significantly greater than their height.

Really? Surely you've seen this before...

http://echostains.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pillar8-thought-and-art-vitruvian-man-leonardo-da-vinci.jpg

I'm the same Rake. Slightly shorter, but I mean 6'2 wingspan is still longer than average by a fair bit.

[NumberSix]

Really? Surely you've seen this before...

http://echostains.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pillar8-thought-and-art-vitruvian-man-leonardo-da-vinci.jpg

I'm the same Rake. Slightly shorter, but I mean 6'2 wingspan is still longer than average by a fair bit.
Before you lend too much credibility to davinci, take a look at some more pics about what he thought the human was like. Particularly what he thought of organs. Very primitive and uninformed.

[plowking]

Before you lend too much credibility to davinci, take a look at some more pics about what he thought the human was like. Particularly what he thought of organs. Very primitive and uninformed.

LOL, I know what you're talking about, but in this case, hes very much close to correct. You'll find slightly shorter, and slightly longer, but the average usually equates close to same as height.

[KungFuJoe]

I have a pretty good wingspan. Never measured, but I have long arms. Man, if only I could palm the ball. That makes a WORLD of difference when it comes to dunking.

[plowking]

I have a pretty good wingspan. Never measured, but I have long arms. Man, if only I could palm the ball. That makes a WORLD of difference when it comes to dunking.

Yep, big difference. One thing that annoyed me is that I had to cuff the ball while windmilling, where as my bro could palm it.

[Clippersfan86]

Average human has close to same wingspan as their height. I'm 5'11 and have a 6'1 wingspan for example.

[BlueandGold]

never a '10 (only 5'11) with hops but on a '8 and i think a '9 inch on my friends adjustable rim at around 15

[millwad]

Your so full of shit it's ridiculous.

Haha, little asian SourPatchDick is mad..
I played for Sweden's U15 national team and I have played in the swedish basketball league and it's not weird that a 13-14 year old can dunk when he's 6'3..

By the way, is your bro still virgin?

[KungFuJoe]

One foot or two? I definitely prefer two...I get higher and feel more "in control". One is useful on fast breaks when you have someone trailing you.

[NumberSix]

Haha, little asian SourPatchDick is mad..
I played for Sweden's U15 national team and I have played in the swedish basketball league and it's not weird that a 13-14 year old can dunk when he's 6'3..

By the way, is your bro still virgin?
If you're 6'3 and your weight is still low like a 14 year old, it would be pretty easy to dunk actually.

[Rake2204]

I have a pretty good wingspan. Never measured, but I have long arms. Man, if only I could palm the ball. That makes a WORLD of difference when it comes to dunking.I agree it makes a big difference, but I've learned to embrace my inability to palm a rock over the years. I like it because it forces my dunks to be a little more powerful because it takes an unified arm motion for me to slam as opposed to placing it on a palmed pedestal and dunking with a slight wrist motion.


One foot or two? I definitely prefer two...I get higher and feel more "in control". One is useful on fast breaks when you have someone trailing you.In-game, my dunks come off one foot 90-95% of the time. When just fooling around outside of games, I think I've most enjoyed dunking off two lately. I just don't get a lot of opportunities in games where leaping off two makes a ton of sense for me. It's a lot easier for me to sprint at full speed and rise in one motion, as opposed to randomly trying to set both feet.

[KungFuJoe]

I agree it makes a big difference, but I've learned to embrace my inability to palm a rock over the years. I like it because it forces my dunks to be a little more powerful because it takes an unified arm motion for me to slam as opposed to placing it on a palmed pedestal and dunking with a slight wrist motion.

In-game, my dunks come off one foot 90-95% of the time. When just fooling around outside of games, I think I've most enjoyed dunking off two lately. I just don't get a lot of opportunities in games where leaping off two makes a ton of sense for me. It's a lot easier for me to sprint at full speed and rise in one motion, as opposed to randomly trying to set both feet.

It usually seems to be one or the other for most people. I could dunk both ways, but I prefer two feet BY far. I had a friend...white guy about 6'5" who would dunk on ANYONE off one foot. I mean he got UP there. Ask him to try and dunk a ball jumping off two feet and he couldn't do it. Didn't seem to know how to plant his feet.

[millwad]

If you're 6'3 and your weight is still low like a 14 year old, it would be pretty easy to dunk actually.

Completely true, I wasn't even very athletic, I could find plenty of people around my age at that time who's just as tall as I was who can dunk. I dunked at my best around 17-20, before I busted my knee.

It should also be mentioned that we play with WNBA balls in Sweden at age 13 so I dunked my first time with a smaller ball.

[Rake2204]

It usually seems to be one or the other for most people. I could dunk both ways, but I prefer two feet BY far. I had a friend...white guy about 6'5" who would dunk on ANYONE off one foot. I mean he got UP there. Ask him to try and dunk a ball jumping off two feet and he couldn't do it. Didn't seem to know how to plant his feet.I actually started off a one-foot dunker and moved to two-feet partway through high school. I went so far the other way that I actually lost the ability to dunk off one foot. So, being only a two-foot guy, there was a little while there where any time I'd come across a dunking opportunity, I'd be chased down while trying to set my feet or I'd slip by setting too fast or I'd just flat out rush everything.

Post high school, I forced myself back into one-foot dunking. It's been pretty solid and easy ever since. I made sure to retain my two-foot ability this time around though, so now I sort of have the best of both worlds.

[O_City_Thunder]

I was 17 years old the first time I dunked and I was 5'7 at the time. I could only dunk off one foot though. It seemed like I could jump higher off two feet, but for some reason I couldn't dunk that way.

[DCL]

freshman year high school. 6'1" at the time. about 145lbs. no typo.

[tomtucker]

13 years old...8th grader in middle school. Was probably 5'2", 130lbs soaking wet at the time. Used to think about dunking since I started playing basketball. One day, before a game, we were doing layup drills and, for some reason, I felt "different". Decided to go for it and did a basic 360-dunk off two feet. No Sprite commercial.

At my utmost peak, at about 7'5", I probably had a vert of 44 inches and could reach a height of 13' 11" (had one of those vert measuring things at a Curves I go to). Had some nice posters in my day. These days, I can barely find my balls, but definitely some fond memories.
:biggums:

[Alonzo Magic]

could smack the backboard when I was 22. 6'0, Black.

[blablabla]

I'm 6'3'' and i can the touch the rim
but i'm terribly out of shape

[kshutts1]

I could never dunk, but it's cool cuz three pointers are worth more and I'm money on those.

[ripthekik]

I'm around 5'11", never got around dunking. But my hand reaches 3 inches above the rim.. a few more and I could be dunking.. but never got around it.

i have a talent though.. I don't need to take one step, I can jump and reach my maximum vert e.g. I can stand under the rim, bend, jump and touch 3 inches above the rim.

I suspect that came from volleyball, as I played competitively in volleyball as well

[NumberSix]

I don't respect any dude who is under 6'0. You're not a man.

This should be good. Lol.

[stevieming]

5"10 and 34, still trying......I think I have a window until 36, then it's never going to happen.

[ashlar]

A little under 5'11 and the best I could do was get an entire hand over the rim. That was around my senior year in high school. I've lost hops since then so my dream to dunk is pretty much over unless you count fisher price baskets.

[ripthekik]

I don't respect any dude who is under 6'0. You're not a man.

This should be good. Lol.
shiiit. should I cut my diick off now

[NumberSix]

If I had a dirtier mind, I could take the question a whole different way.