Longest Hangtime for NBA players?

[Easy9]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sauiU4ODGB4

this video shows no player ever had a hangtime over than 1 second. Michael Jordan had a hangtime of 0.92 sec.

I was wondering if any high flyer in the league now or b4 that might surpass this number?

[20 Dimes A Game]

.92 is crazy.

[ForceOfNature]

Very interesting video. I still didn't completely understand the part about the body stretching creating the optical illusion of flying in a horizontal line. Anyway, 0.92 seconds doesn't seem like a lot but watching it in slow motion is pretty awesome.

[silky_smooth]

Farmar got some ups

[Loki]

If they didn't have sensors on MJ like they did on Farmar, how can they get an accurate time? If they simply eyed it out, there's room for error. The basic point of the video is sound, though. What guys like Jordan do/did is o extend the body as they say, but also flail the legs and pick them up higher so as to get that extra fraction of a second of air. That leg pull-up is why I don't think their estimation of his hangtime from a video is accurate.

[Easy9]

K, i just got the math here lol

say sum guy has a hangtime of 1 sec, then his vertical must be 0.5*g*(0.5sec)square = 0.5*9.8*0.25=1.225metres. That is, 48.23''.

sumone here has a vertical over 48"?:hammerhead:

[Cannonball]

K, i just got the math here lol

say sum guy has a hangtime of 1 sec, then his vertical must be 0.5*g*(0.5sec)square = 0.5*9.8*0.25=1.225metres. That is, 48.23''.

sumone here has a vertical over 48"?:hammerhead:
forward motion?

[20 Dimes A Game]

K, i just got the math here lol

say sum guy has a hangtime of 1 sec, then his vertical must be 0.5*g*(0.5sec)square = 0.5*9.8*0.25=1.225metres. That is, 48.23''.

sumone here has a vertical over 48"?:hammerhead:

Dude, got too much time on your hands.

[Eldrunko247]

Brian Cook

[Easy9]

If they didn't have sensors on MJ like they did on Farmar, how can they get an accurate time? If they simply eyed it out, there's room for error. The basic point of the video is sound, though. What guys like Jordan do/did is o extend the body as they say, but also flail the legs and pick them up higher so as to get that extra fraction of a second of air. That leg pull-up is why I don't think their estimation of his hangtime from a video is accurate.
I think they can get MJ's hangtime just by watching the play video and timing it.

Flailing legs won't hold up ur gravity center tho, which is the only thing that determins how long u can stay in the air.

[Easy9]

forward motion?
forward motion has nothing to do with vertical motion here.

[Jimmy2k8]

Brian Cook


Yeah, can't believe the Lakers waited for this guy to have a 11/10 season for 3-4 years

[L.Kizzle]

Jumpin' Johnny Green, I heard he had the most hangtime ever.

[Easy9]

Dude, got too much time on your hands.
LOL that took me like 2 min:D

K, K, :lol: i'll stop being the nerd here. how bout go have dinner 'n call my buddies come over to watch the bucks game tonite:rockon:

[v-unit]

LOL that took me like 2 min:D

K, K, :lol: i'll stop being the nerd here. how bout go have dinner 'n call my buddies come over to watch the bucks game tonite:rockon:

How about you and your friends do my math homework?

[ForceOfNature]

K, i just got the math here lol

say sum guy has a hangtime of 1 sec, then his vertical must be 0.5*g*(0.5sec)square = 0.5*9.8*0.25=1.225metres. That is, 48.23''.

sumone here has a vertical over 48"? :hammerhead:

Hahaha, great job - this guy knows what he's doing.


LOL that took me like 2 min:D

K, K, :lol: i'll stop being the nerd here. how bout go have dinner 'n call my buddies come over to watch the bucks game tonite:rockon:

Bucks game? No, my friend, that is nerdy. :oldlol: If it were a Suns game, that would be different.

[darabzarrabi]

james white!

[Loki]

I think they can get MJ's hangtime just by watching the play video and timing it.

Flailing legs won't hold up ur gravity center tho, which is the only thing that determins how long u can stay in the air.

Incorrect. I know that the center of gravity still follows the laws of parabolic motion, but tucking the legs in definitely extends the amount of time that none of your body is in contact with the floor, even if only for an extra fraction of a second -- how can it not?

Let's say you jump straight up in the air twice, once with legs fully extended straight down after the jump, and the second time bringing your knees to your chest and your legs upward. Which of these jumps will result in no part of you being in contact with the ground for the longest time? That's all I mean when I say that tucking the legs can increase hangtime. The center of gravity is unaffected, but hangtime definitely can be, though not to any large degree.

[Rockets(T-mac)]

Pretty cool video. I've heard about this show looks good. Damn being in the air for a second sure can look long from just stretching your body and tucking you legs.

[Cohnman15]

What about Nate Robinson? He must have a pretty long hangtime.

[Unreal Skill]

I believe what the video said...no one can have hangtime longer than a sec, no matter even if you have 50in vert.

[Loki]

I believe what the video said...no one can have hangtime longer than a sec, no matter even if you have 50in vert.

I'm not sure if you're just reiterating what the video said, but to be clear, the reason that no human can have hangtime > 1 second is because no human has a vertical significantly above 50", if that.

Hypothetically, if someone had a 75" vert, of course they'd be able to stay in the air longer than 1 second. The limitation is not on the amount of hangtime, but rather on the vertical leap which generates the hangtime in the first place.

[hateraid]

james white!


I'd concur. He has the vert and the lenght to pull it off. Could he possibly be in the air for a full second? That'd be insane.

[Aldridge Fan]

Julius Erving
Michael Jordan
Clyde Drexler

[gyu]

K, i just got the math here lol

say sum guy has a hangtime of 1 sec, then his vertical must be 0.5*g*(0.5sec)square = 0.5*9.8*0.25=1.225metres. That is, 48.23''.

sumone here has a vertical over 48"?:hammerhead:
Mass also affects it too doesn't it?

[Loki]

Mass also affects it too doesn't it?

No. Ignoring air resistance, it doesn't. So perhaps wearing extremely baggy clothes would help. :)

Mind you, you will generally be able to impart more force to a lesser mass on the initial leap (thereby generating a higher vertical leap), but once you're in the air, the effect of gravity is the same whether you're 160 pounds or 260 pounds. In other words, two people, one 100 pounds heavier than the other, will remain in the air the same amount of time assuming they have an equal vertical leap.

[Unreal Skill]

There are people in the world with 50+ in. vertical leap...they did a vertical test on the street dunker Skywalker and he measured up 50in.

[Loki]

There are people in the world with 50+ in. vertical leap...they did a vertical test on the street dunker Skywalker and he measured up 50in.

No doubt there are some, but it's not significantly above 50". Say 54" at best. These are the people who have the full 1 second of hangtime.

[WhiteMosɘs]

:oldlol: Did they just show one dunk for Farmar from like 3 angles?

[Uchiha_Hai]

Youtube slow as ****

[DCL]

yes, "hangtime" is determined by vertical leap.

this is high school physics. gravity pulls down the same on all weights and shapes (unless you're like a feather or piece of paper or if you're accelerating towards peak velocity, etc. )

however, if you measure "hangtime" from the moment your feet leaves the ground to the moment any part of your body retouches the ground, then you can cheat and produce extra hangtime if you land on your ass instead of your feet. :D

[nicesinging1]

Thanks a lot for this post. I always wanted to know exactly how long high-flyers like MJ and VC stay in the air. For some reason, I was always under the illusion that MJ stays in the air for more than 1 second, perhaps around 1.2 second.
My question for u guys is, if no NBA player could stay in the air for more than 1 second, could those high-jumpers and long-jumpers in the Olympic games stay in the air for more than 1 second?
Thanks in advance for any insights on this fascinating topic.

[abuC]

Michael Wilson of the Globetrotters had a 53 inch vertical, the same guy who dunked on the 12 foot rim. I wonder what his hangtime would be.

[Richie2k6]

That was damn interesting. Thanks for that. Sports Science is a great show.

[SHEED_ gangsta]

what about the famous "Gliding Dunk" by clyde drexler???? that **** was like 4 seconds!!!

[Diesel J]

interesting..

[el_locoteee]

Whats the hangtime for this guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4yhE5KEPq0

Javier Sotomayor - 245cm - 8.038 feet. 96.45 inches

[laalaa]

If they didn't have sensors on MJ like they did on Farmar, how can they get an accurate time?
I'm guessing they counted it frame by frame.
For an example, 1 second = 24 frames. 48, 72 or more with high speed.
Jordan's "0,92"=22 frames if it was shot on 24fps.

I might be wrong but that's one way to do it.

[Loki]

I'm guessing they counted it frame by frame.
For an example, 1 second = 24 frames. 48, 72 or more with high speed.
Jordan's "0,92"=22 frames if it was shot on 24fps.

I might be wrong but that's one way to do it.

Good thought.

[Da_Realist]

what about the famous "Gliding Dunk" by clyde drexler???? that **** was like 4 seconds!!!

This one?

Clyde "The Glide" Drexler over Isiah Thomas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Re5bNrv1I#t=0m51s)

[Da_Realist]

What about this hangtime?

Michael Jordan vs Clyde Drexler -- Hangtime Version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqzWCqNJtT0)

[andgar923]

Not sure how reliable this is, but it seems like its well thought out:

http://www.geocities.com/jordanhanging/hangtime/hangtime.htm

[arkain]

If you hang for too long, dont you get a technical?

[ProfessorMurder]

The maximum possible hang time is 1 second according to physics. No person has been in the air for more than that in history (under their own power).

Jordan had .92 on the foul line dunk so that is nearly maxed out.

[Darius]

They removed the link - anyone know the name of the clip so I can search it?

[Darius]

nvm found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZqVq5LrdQQ

[BingBongBrother]

See Mobley at the end? Dude probably dies of a heart attack after jumping in football gear.

[Kblaze8855]

Guy with the most hangtime ive ever seen compared to his total athletic ability is Rod Strickland. He could make 4 moves in the air though he probably wasnt more than 30-33 inches off the ground.

[BirdOverrated]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu7tdrAfJms

Kobe vs spurs

[TheWitness]

VC should have it...

insane hangtime... could drink coffee while hanging in the air! hahaha!

[AirGauge23]

Damn...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvxijHNWB4#t=1m2s

[Diesel J]

Anyone see that Vince Carter bassline layup from the other night?

[TheWitness]

Anyone see that Vince Carter bassline layup from the other night?


VC is wearing Jet Shoes! hahaha thats why hes flying!


:banana: :banana: :banana:

[regal50]

Not even close to 4 seconds.... and by the way, the Jordan dunk was travelling.

[TheWitness]

Damn...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWvxijHNWB4#t=1m2s


good vid!

[JJ81]

This video has been removed due to terms of use violation.

:hammerhead:

[TheWitness]

:hammerhead:

LOL

[Diesel J]

Hey, Loki/Oldschool, you see this Jordan dunk below @ 3:53?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6myWojN83I4&feature=related

do you remember the youtube video you once posted with the live footage/different angle of that same dunk?

That's one of the best hangtime dunks I've ever seen:eek:

[TheWitness]

Hey, Loki/Oldschool, you see this Jordan dunk below @ 3:53?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6myWojN83I4&feature=related

do you remember the youtube video you once posted with the live footage/different angle of that same dunk?

That's one of the best hangtime dunks I've ever seen:eek:


jordan drank coffee while hes in the air! hahaha!

[OldSchoolBBall]

Hey, Loki/Oldschool, you see this Jordan dunk below @ 3:53?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6myWojN83I4&feature=related

do you remember the youtube video you once posted with the live footage/different angle of that same dunk?

That's one of the best hangtime dunks I've ever seen:eek:

Starts at 2:55: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwyqE22CSyM&feature=channel_page

[DCL]

higher vertical leap = longer hang time. simple physics math. gravity doesn't change.

so asking how has the longest hangtime in the nba is basically same as asking who has the highest vert in the nba.

[halffttime]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luvlG8QOky0

my mind playin tricks on me!!

[twolvesfan]

ughh people here fail at physics. you are always either going up or down no one ever floats in the air

[martin2min]

A while back I saw this video of Dwayne Wade doing an up and under and it took my breath away how much hangtime he got on that one play. If I had to pick on play where I would bet money that it was more than a second it would be this one.

Watch live college hoops online (http://thesportsretort.blogspot.com)

[inclinerator]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RfXSmG431s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5EeVLK8XWQ

[NBA4EVER]

What about Nate Robinson? He must have a pretty long hangtime.

Robinsons vertical is 43.5

[Diesel J]

Starts at 2:55: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwyqE22CSyM&feature=channel_page

Props...that dunk/hangtime/air improvisation = :eek: :bowdown: :eek: :bowdown:

[Beebo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XT8xplDccE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5AEKQr2SKI

^^Moon sure has hops

[bisk]

bit OT here, but those guys in High Jumping and Long Jumping contests must have some ridiculous "hang time" aswell, no? Especially someone like Sotomayor or so...

[Fatal9]

http://i50.tinypic.com/jiern6.jpg

had to make a gif of this, it's so ridiculous. defender is back on the ground before MJ even reaches the peak of his jump. wonder what sort of elevation he got on these hanging double clutch jumpers.

[Orlando Magic]

ughh people here fail at physics. you are always either going up or down no one ever floats in the air

Yes and no. Ability to garner speed and jump and further distances will alter the perception of what we call "hang time". It's not just simply jumping up and down.

[ProfessorMurder]

http://i50.tinypic.com/jiern6.jpg

had to make a gif of this, it's so ridiculous. defender is back on the ground before MJ even reaches the peak of his jump. wonder what sort of elevation he got on these hanging double clutch jumpers.

Jesus Christ! That almost made me vomit. Disgustingly incredible, that's superhuman.

Edit: I just counted. He was in the air from frame 36 to 77... F*ck...

[InspiredLebowski]

I read the thread title as "hairline" for some reason

[Bodin]

http://i50.tinypic.com/jiern6.jpg

had to make a gif of this, it's so ridiculous. defender is back on the ground before MJ even reaches the peak of his jump. wonder what sort of elevation he got on these hanging double clutch jumpers.

that is sick
he has springs in his legs

[Andrei89]

Shannon Brown has a pretty crazy hangtime

[OldSchoolBBall]

http://i50.tinypic.com/jiern6.jpg

had to make a gif of this, it's so ridiculous. defender is back on the ground before MJ even reaches the peak of his jump. wonder what sort of elevation he got on these hanging double clutch jumpers.

Yeah, always loved that shot. It's even crazier when you see it at regular speed...he just sort of floats across the lane (maybe my browser/PC is just displaying it in semi-slow mo). As for his elevation, well, it wasn't at his athletic peak, but at some point during the '93 Finals, Mike Fratello or Marv said that they (I forget if it was a coaching staff, sports research company or what) measured Jordan's vertical only on his jumpshots during like a dozen games that season or postseason, and it was something ridiculous iirc like 31-34" on the average jumpshot attempt. It was so high that I had a hard time believing it, but some independent company/entity actually analyzed it, so who knows. This was about 3-4 years past his athletic prime, too.

You can probably find the quote if you have access to the entire '93 Finals. Jordan had ridiculous elevation on his jumpers, particularly from '88-'91. Of the players I've seen, only 'Nique compares. Here's another sick elevation on a jumper, this time at age 33:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW0pdGsTDjc#t=2m18s (and they don't even freeze it at the height of his jump :oldlol: )

[Funnyfuka]

shannon brown has a hangtime of 1 hour.

[MMKM]

higher vertical leap = longer hang time. simple physics math. gravity doesn't change.

so asking how has the longest hangtime in the nba is basically same as asking who has the highest vert in the nba.


Eh, not exactly. A falling object's speed is calculated based on the acceleration of gravity, not the speed of gravity. In other words, an object continues to gain velocity the farther it falls. This is why you won't die if you jump off a chair, but you will if you jump off a building. The greater the distance, the faster the speed you are moving.

So....YES a player with a higher vertical will technically have more "hangtime" because it is correct that he is in the air longer, but the difference is very minute due to the fact that his body had to have more acceleration in his jump (in order to overcome gravity) and his body is also coming back down to earth at a slightly faster rate, again due to the acceleration of gravity.

Like you said, simple physics.

[keep_it_real]

http://i50.tinypic.com/jiern6.jpg

had to make a gif of this, it's so ridiculous. defender is back on the ground before MJ even reaches the peak of his jump. wonder what sort of elevation he got on these hanging double clutch jumpers.

Its almost as if he floats up more JUST when i think he may reach the peak for a jumper. :bowdown:

[Fatal9]

was something ridiculous iirc like 31-34" on the average jumpshot attempt
Using basic physics by looking at his flight time (assuming no issues with playback) on that shot vs. Spurs it comes to 32-34". Seems about right when looking at his head in relation to the rim (8-10 inches below). 31-34" does sound a bit ridiculous for him in '93, that would put his head at or over the bottom of the backboard. Were they straight up jump shots or hanging double clutch jumpers? Still, the most impressive thing isn't the height but how he maintains accuracy and body control on the jumpshots. If you've ever tried to get near your max vert to shoot a jumper, you'll notice how difficult it becomes to aim at the basket. It completely throws you off.

[Johnni Gade]

Aww. Video is broke. At least in my country

[OldSchoolBBall]

Using basic physics by looking at his flight time (assuming no issues with playback) on that shot vs. Spurs it comes to 32-34". Seems about right when looking at his head in relation to the rim (8-10 inches below). 31-34" does sound a bit ridiculous for him in '93, that would put his head at or over the bottom of the backboard. Were they straight up jump shots or hanging double clutch jumpers? Still, the most impressive thing isn't the height but how he maintains accuracy and body control on the jumpshots. If you've ever tried to get near your max vert to shoot a jumper, you'll notice how difficult it becomes to aim at the basket. It completely throws you off.

Yeah, it gets more difficult to maintain form as you try to leap higher on jumpers. For the MJ shots, iirc it was measuring his pull-up jumpers as opposed to catch and shoots etc. Pretty sure it was at least 30". I even remember the play they talked about it during. It was the 4th quarter of a game, and MJ drove right and hit a pull-up semi-fade over Majerle, and Magic was going crazy over how much elevation he got, especially at that late stage in the game. I think that's when Mike Fratello or Marv chimed in with the info I mentioned. I forget which game it was, though.

30" would put the top of his head a foot below the rim; I can maybe see that being the case on pull-ups specifically, even in '93. Still crazy, though. Did you watch the other video I posted? Ridiculous at any age, let alone nearly 33. There's also this video, but these are both deep shots (halfcourt shot and a 28 footer); you can see how insanely high he gets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJeujFhxXA#t=3m4s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlQJqTkcd4Y#t=6m41s

There are some regular jumpers of his in games that I can find (I think a couple from that same Spurs game you posted the gif from, in the first half), but maybe later.

[Maniak]

Probably Steve Nash.

[che guevara]

Yeah, it gets more difficult to maintain form as you try to leap higher on jumpers. For the MJ shots, iirc it was measuring his pull-up jumpers as opposed to catch and shoots etc. Pretty sure it was at least 30". I even remember the play they talked about it during. It was the 4th quarter of a game, and MJ drove right and hit a pull-up semi-fade over Majerle, and Magic was going crazy over how much elevation he got, especially at that late stage in the game. I think that's when Mike Fratello or Marv chimed in with the info I mentioned. I forget which game it was, though.

30" would put the top of his head a foot below the rim; I can maybe see that being the case on pull-ups specifically, even in '93. Still crazy, though. Did you watch the other video I posted? Ridiculous at any age, let alone nearly 33. There's also this video, but these are both deep shots (halfcourt shot and a 28 footer); you can see how insanely high he gets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJeujFhxXA#t=3m4s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlQJqTkcd4Y#t=6m41s

There are some regular jumpers of his in games that I can find (I think a couple from that same Spurs game you posted the gif from, in the first half), but maybe later.
The quote you're talking about is here at 1:50. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxNDFjSXS4&feature=related)

[OldSchoolBBall]

The quote you're talking about is here at 1:50. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbxNDFjSXS4&feature=related)

Thanks; that's exactly the portion I remembered. So it was 30.5" elevation on his jumpshot attempts, then. And that was during the Knicks series in '93, which was a brutal, physically draining series. At age 30. Amazing.

[O.J A 6'4Mamba]

Eh, not exactly. A falling object's speed is calculated based on the acceleration of gravity, not the speed of gravity. In other words, an object continues to gain velocity the farther it falls. This is why you won't die if you jump off a chair, but you will if you jump off a building. The greater the distance, the faster the speed you are moving.

So....YES a player with a higher vertical will technically have more "hangtime" because it is correct that he is in the air longer, but the difference is very minute due to the fact that his body had to have more acceleration in his jump (in order to overcome gravity) and his body is also coming back down to earth at a slightly faster rate, again due to the acceleration of gravity.

Like you said, simple physics.

wait so if it is coming down at a faster rate, wouldnt that mean less hangtime?

[Fatal9]

Thanks; that's exactly the portion I remembered. So it was 30.5" elevation on his jumpshot attempts, then. And that was during the Knicks series in '93, which was a brutal, physically draining series. At age 30. Amazing.
30+ inches seems like a stretch to me. High 20s is more reasonable. Even that Spurs shot was probably around 33" and it was when he was at his peak athletically. For his AVERAGE to be 30.5"? I can't buy it. Probably got it on some shots but not as an average. I'll have to check out the highlights later and see. He did have that wrist problem though and maybe needed to use his legs more to compensate.

The '96 clip is ridiculous too. He's probably reaching close to 30" there, and to put it in perspective, one of the best athletes in this draft (John Wall) maxes out his standing vert at 30". He along with Doctor J were two perimeter guys who retained athletic ability like no others. '98 MJ moves noticeably quicker on the floor than current Kobe for example. I remember a similar freeze frame of his jumpshot vs. Nets in the late 90s too.

[artex]

It'd be cool to find out what SB's is

[ShaqAttack3234]

Wilt Chamberlain. He had a 48" vert and could make change on the backboard. You'd have to hang in the air long to do that!

Anyway, in all seriousness, I remember Lebron getting ridiculous elevation on the jumpshots he was hitting in game 5 of the 2007 ECF vs Detroit. Kind of reminded me of 'Nique.

[lefthook00]

wait so if it is coming down at a faster rate, wouldnt that mean less hangtime?

No b/c he is higher in the air(vert) so even though he is going up/coming down at a faster rate, he is up in the air higher at his highest so it kind of cancels out.

[OldSchoolBBall]

30+ inches seems like a stretch to me. High 20s is more reasonable.

Yeah, I'd agree, especially for '93 (age 30).


Even that Spurs shot was probably around 33" and it was when he was at his peak athletically. For his AVERAGE to be 30.5"? I can't buy it.

On those sorts of double clutch shots, he's really bending both knees deeply and using both feet to jump near max, though. It wouldn't surprise me if that was 35"+, actually. Compare the type of motion in his legs there to the wind up to the shot from '96, where it's just a super quick jump stop with little knee flexion at all, and he still gets 29"+


The '96 clip is ridiculous too. He's probably reaching close to 30" there, and to put it in perspective, one of the best athletes in this draft (John Wall) maxes out his standing vert at 30". He along with Doctor J were two perimeter guys who retained athletic ability like no others. '98 MJ moves noticeably quicker on the floor than current Kobe for example. I remember a similar freeze frame of his jumpshot vs. Nets in the late 90s too.

Jordan retained a lot of athleticism, but he also lost quite a bit. His one footed leaping suffered the most imo, along with his explosiveness (i.e., first step, change of pace etc.). As for him in '98 as compared to Kobe, it depends on the game/play you watch. I have seen plays/games where he was visibly quicker than current Kobe (who it should also be noted is injured), but then I've also seen games where he didn't look as quick. I think at that age (35), it really depends on how you're feeling that day. For instance, this play from the '98 ECF I don't think Kobe could duplicate at the exact same speed from point A to point B:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhSBTI-txak#t=8m19s

But then you watch other games, particularly later in this series and vs. Utah, and he looks slower. Probably fatigue. There's a game vs. Toronto I have on DVD from '98 where he hits the game winner, and he's incredibly quick that game. Here's some sick point A to point B quickness/acceleration from that game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tblZpFdgqk8#t=7m25s

It's just the way he goes from zero to max speed so quickly that's always amazed me. He never truly lost that, at least not relatively speaking. I think how quick/fast he was later in '97 and '98 depended more on fatigue and how far into the season/postseason he was than anything else.

[Batman]

30+ inches seems like a stretch to me. High 20s is more reasonable. Even that Spurs shot was probably around 33" and it was when he was at his peak athletically. For his AVERAGE to be 30.5"? I can't buy it. Probably got it on some shots but not as an average. I'll have to check out the highlights later and see. He did have that wrist problem though and maybe needed to use his legs more to compensate.

The '96 clip is ridiculous too. He's probably reaching close to 30" there, and to put it in perspective, one of the best athletes in this draft (John Wall) maxes out his standing vert at 30". He along with Doctor J were two perimeter guys who retained athletic ability like no others. '98 MJ moves noticeably quicker on the floor than current Kobe for example. I remember a similar freeze frame of his jumpshot vs. Nets in the late 90s too.

John Wall is more plyometric leaper. That means he needs steps to really being able to explode in the air. I think his max was 39 or 40 inches. 30 inches is a standing is good, but it isn't super elite. Derrick Rose had a 35 standing vertical to put it in perspective.

So it really isn't a stretch if Jordan takes one step and leaps into a jump shot that he is doing about 30 inches.