How high do NBA players jump?

The hoop sits 3.05 metres off the ground. That number is why jumping ability and explosiveness are two of the most valued traits in a basketball player.

A player who can finish a clean dunk gets love from the crowd and respect from opponents. But the advantage isn't cosmetic: getting higher off the floor means shaking the defence more easily and staying dangerous in attack even when there's barely any space.

One foot or two?

Depending on their physical traits and the technique that suits them best, some players go up off one leg and others prefer to jump off both feet.

The difference is in the time spent on the ground. On a one-foot jump the contact is short, so the pushing leg has to load with far more force in far less time. On a two-foot jump the contact lasts longer and the muscles get more time to produce force. Which means the first type of jump suits light, reactive players, and the second suits players with more raw muscular strength.

Neither one is better in absolute terms: they're trained differently, and that's exactly why a serious program works on both maximal strength and reactivity.

How high do NBA players jump?

Before the numbers, one detail you need in order to read them properly: the measurements below are verticals, meaning centimetres off the floor, not the height reached by the hand. Most of them come from the Draft Combine, where the jump is measured under standardised conditions, while others are unofficial readings and should be taken as ballpark figures.

Michael Jordan had a vertical of around 120 cm and is still considered one of the best jumpers in NBA history.

The Draft Combine benchmark was updated in 2021 by Keon Johnson, born in 2002, with a jump of around 121 cm. Before him, at the same event, the best had been Kenny Gregory in 2001 with around 115 cm and Pat Connaughton in 2015 with around 112 cm, a mark he hit off a very short run-up.

Ranking of the best NBA jumpers

According to a ranking published by Bleacher Report, these are some of the other best unofficial measurements among NBA athletes:

• Andrew Wiggins — 111.76 cm
• Dee Brown — 111.76 cm
• LeBron James — 111.76 cm
• Shannon Brown — 113 cm
• James White — 116.84 cm
• Zach LaVine — 116.84 cm
• Spud Webb — 116.84 cm
• Jason Richardson — 118.11 cm
• Darrell Griffith — 121.92 cm
• Wilt Chamberlain — 121.92 cm

One thing worth noticing: Spud Webb was 170 cm tall and he's on this list next to Wilt Chamberlain, who stood 216. Hops aren't a question of height.

So how high do you jump?

Comparing yourself to NBA numbers only makes sense if you know your own. The JHP jump test is free: you upload a two-second video of yourself jumping and you get your vertical in centimetres, worked out from your hang time. The analysis runs inside the browser, so the video never leaves your phone, and the page also states the margin of error on the measurement.

➡️ Measure your vertical now, free

Write the number down. Take the test again after four weeks of training: it's the only way to know whether you're actually improving.

How you train your vertical

You don't train the jump by jumping more: you train it with strength, with plyometrics and with the way the two are alternated across the week. The JHP subscription gives you 13 programs with day-by-day plans and a video for every exercise, at €99/year. If you play basketball, these are the ones for you:

• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks of bodyweight jump training (€60)
• JHP Gym Edition — 16 weeks in the weight room on maximal strength and power (€60)
• Jumping Monster — 14 days of intensive plyometrics (€40)
• Basket Advanced — the package built for basketball players (€80)

You might also like: how to jump higher and dunk a basketball and training explosive strength to level up your basketball.