Two 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, running 2.76, which is 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 holds 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.
How do these numbers stack against the best leapers in NBA history? Check out this list of NBA players and their highest reported verticals. These were not all done at a draft combine. Some were from pre-draft camps, others from books, news reports, team reports, etc. So take them with a grain of salt because you will find conflicting numbers. For example, Jordan reportedly had 45.76″ vert in college, the Bulls said he had 42, and other reports have him at 48 (NO WAY!).
HIGHEST REPORTED NBA VERTS (THAT PROBABLY ARE NOT ACCURATE)
- Michael Jordan – 48 inches
- Jason Richardson – 46 inches
- James White – 46 inches
- Spud 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
AARON GORDON IN HIGH SCHOOL
Back to AG, nothing he did at the Combine surprised us. We have been recording him since his early days in high school and have witnessed him do a lot more impressive things. Here are a few of those things.
16 -YEAR-OLD GORDON
SENIOR YEAR MIXTAPE
AG VS ANDREW WIGGINS | MCDAAG DUNK CONTEST
AG AT THE SAN FRAN PRO-AM
FROM THE FUTURE: THE 2016 NBA DUNK CONTEST
In two years, AG is going to put on one of the greatest dunk exhibitions ever and still end up losing the contest.