2 days after a picture of Andrew Wiggins showing off his vert went viral, 6'8" Aaron Gordon showed off his impressive vert at the NBA Draft Combine with a 39 inch max jump - 9th among prospects. Markel Brown and Jahii Carson tied for 1st place with 43.5 inches. On the standing vert leap, Gordon was 11th at 32.5 inches.
Although the video above of Gordon jumping will get all the YouTube views, he was more impressive in the shuttle run drill with a time of 2.76 - good enough for 1st among all prospects. 2013 Ballislife All-American alumni and dunk contest winner Zach Lavine was second with 2.8 seconds. Lavine also placed first in the lane agility drill and Gordon was the only big man in the top 10 (7th).
If you were wondering who had the NBA Draft combine record for vertical leap, it's D.J. Stephens who showed off his 46-inch vert last year. Stephen's record broke Kenny Gregory's 45.5 inch record set back in 2001.
If you were wondering how do these numbers stack against the best leapers in NBA history then check out this list which is composed of NBA players with their highest reported vertical. These were not all done at a draft combine. Some were from pre-draft camps, others reported in books, others in news reports, team reports, etc. So take them with a grain of salt because you will find conflicting numbers. For example, Jordan had a reported 45.76" vert in college and the Bulls said he had 42 and other reports have him at 48.
- Michael Jordan - 48 inches
- Jason Richardson - 46 inches
- James White - 46 inches
- Spudd Webb - 46 inches
- Gerald Green - 45 inches
- LeBron James - 44 inches
- Nate Robinson - 44 inches
- Tracy McGrady - 43 inches
- Vince Carter - 43 inches
- Jamario Moon - 43 inches
- Steve Francis - 43 inches
- Dr J - 43 inches
- JR Rider - 41 inches
- Shawn Kemp - 41 inches
- Derrick Rose - 40 inches
- Kobe Bryant - 38 inches
Back to Gordon...
Watching him clear the rack doesn't surprise us at all. We have been recording him since his early days in high school and have witnessed him do a lot more impressive things. Here's a few of those things during his senior year and against Andrew Wiggins in the McDonalds Dunk Contest.
