Back In The Day NBA

Video Questions Claim Of Michael Jordan's 48-Inch Vertical

Shandel Richardson

October 18, 1984; New York, NY, USA; Michael Jordan, 23, sets up Bull's offense against the Knicks during an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Carmine Galasso/North Jersey Media Group via USA TODAY NETWORK
October 18, 1984; New York, NY, USA; Michael Jordan, 23, sets up Bull's offense against the Knicks during an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Mandatory Credit: Carmine Galasso/North Jersey Media Group via USA TODAY NETWORK / NorthJersey.com-USA TODAY NETWOR
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NBA legend Michael Jordan is one of the greatest leapers in history.

He is arguably the best in-game dunker the league has ever seen, ranking up there with Vince Carter. The claim is Jordan has the highest vertical leap when he was measured at 48 inches when he entered the league in 1984.

Many have disputed this but a resurfaced video provides the doubters more ammunition. Jordan was asked about his vertical during an appearance on Larry King Live. The interview was well after he was on the way to stardom.


"I don't know," Jordan said. "I've never been measured."

Jordan fans are some liars 🤦🏿

Posted by Devonte Mack on Friday, December 27, 2024

The truth may never be learned but this does give fuel for the naysayers.

"It wasn't that much of an importance to me," Jordan said. "... Whatever's in the book is in the book. I don't know what it is."

DURANT DEFENDS HIS ERA

NBA superstar Kevin Durant recently decided to come to his era's defense.

Lately, there is plenty criticism about the league relying too heavily on the 3-point line. So Durant used the Back In The Day era to defend today's game.

Here's what he posted on X a few days ago: "In the 90s they took bad midrange jump shots all game lol nobody cared."

The subject again hit the forefront last week when the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls combined to shoot 108 3-pointers. It caught the attention of the Inside The NBA crew on TNT, especially Charles Barkley.


"If you're just going to come out and have a 3-point shooting contest every night," Barkley pondered. "It's a copycat league. These coaches, they see other people doing. They're scared to coach these teams."

Barkley has a point because teams are taking a lot of 3-pointers. But so is Durant because there were plenty of bad shots back in the `90s.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com