Who Has The Highest Vertical In The NBA History?

Who has the highest vertical in the NBA history? That would be Wilt Chamberlain, who could touch the top of the backboard with his fingertips extended.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain is often cited as having the highest vertical in NBA history. He was a 7-foot-1 center who could dunk with ease. In his prime, Chamberlain was a physical specimen and could outjump any player in the league.

Chamberlain’s early years

Wilt Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain’s parents worked a variety of jobs to support their nine children. His father worked as a chauffeur and handyman while his mother was a maid. As a child, Chamberlain was taller and heavier than most of his classmates and skipped several grades in elementary school. He eventually attended Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. During his high school years, Chamberlain quickly emerged as one of the nation’s most talented basketball players.

In 1954, he led Overbrook to the Pennsylvania state championship game. Although the team lost, Chamberlain finished the game with an astounding 42 points and 27 rebounds. He also set new state records for scoring (90 points in a single game) and rebounding (51 in a single game). After graduating from high school, Chamberlain enrolled at the University of Kansas.

Chamberlain’s college years

From his sophomore to his senior year at the University of Kansas, Chamberlain’s game grew steadily. In his second year, he set a Jayhawks single-game scoring record with 52 points against Northwestern. As a junior, he averaged 24.2 points and 13.4 rebounds per game, and was named a consensus first-team All-American for the second straight season. Afterward, he declared himself eligible for the 1959 NBA draft despite having two years of college eligibility remaining.

Chamberlain’s professional years

Chamberlain was drafted by the Philadelphia Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1959 with the first overall pick. He quickly became one of the dominant players of the league, winning Rookie of the Year honors and going on to lead the league in scoring for seven consecutive seasons. Although prolific, he was frequently beset by early foul trouble and struggled with free throw shooting. Chamberlain nonetheless changed the NBA with his style of play, physicality, and charisma, which fans loved and his fellow players both resented and feared.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He was a dominant force on the court, and his name is synonymous with greatness. But did you know that he also holds the record for the highest vertical in the NBA history? That’s right, at 48 inches, Jordan’s vertical was two inches higher than the next best player.

Jordan’s early years

Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, James R. Jordan Sr. and Deloris Peoples Jordan, divorced when he was a young child. He grew up with his father in Wilmington, North Carolina; his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he focused on his basketball skills. After graduating from high school in 1981, he accepted a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jordan’s college years

Michael Jordan was one of the most outstanding players ever to play the game of basketball. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17, 1963, and raised in Wilmington, North Carolina. His parents are James R. Jordan Sr., a plant supervisor at a General Motors automobile plant, and Deloris Jordan, who worked in banking. As a child growing up, Jordan excelled at baseball and football as well as basketball.

Jordan played basketball for Laney High School in Wilmington, and his skill at the game quickly became apparent. By the time he was a senior in high school, he had already attracted attention from some of the nation’s top college basketball programs. He ultimately decided to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a basketball scholarship.

Jordan’s years at North Carolina were highly successful both personally and athletically. He helped lead the Tar Heels to an NCAA championship in 1982 and was named College Player of the Year. He also received his bachelor’s degree in geography that same year. In 1984, Jordan became a member of the United States Olympic basketball team; he helped lead the team to a gold medal at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

Jordan’s professional years

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player and the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick. He quickly emerged as a league star and entertained crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from partway across court,[1] earned him nicknames such as “Air Jordan” and “His Airness”. He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.[2] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, followed by titles in 1992 and 1993. Although Jordan briefly retired from basketball before breifly joining Wizardthe Washington Wizards in 2001 as part of an ownership group led by Abe Pollin,[3] he returned to play for Chicago between 2002–2003. In 1996, at age 32, Jordan became league MVP for a record fourth time,[4] All-NBA First Team for an unprecedented eighth time,[5] and Defensive Player of they ear for an All-Star record second time.[5][6]

During his career with Chicago, Jordan led they team to six NBA Finals appearances. In 1995 he was honored with MVP honors during Finals victory against Orlando Magic;[7] becoming only second player after Willis Reed (1970) to achieve this accolade.[8][9][10][11] Three years later they narrowly lost out to Utah Jazz in Playoff series which decided who would face Los Angeles Lakers in Finals.[12][13][14] After losing playoff berth to Charlotte Hornets during final game of regular season,[15][16] they finally regained Eastern Conference title beating Indiana Pacers four games to two en route to clinching 4th title against Jazz led by Karl Malone and John Stockton;[17] with Jordan winning Finals MVP honors for fifth time.[18

LeBron James

LeBron James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. James has won four NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals.

James’ early years

LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio, to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria James, and father Anthony McClelland. His mother had him when she was just a sophomore in high school. James grew up in the projects of Akron, raised by his mother and her friends. He has two older siblings: one half-brother who is older than James, and a younger sister. His father never married his mother and only saw his son sporadically; by the time LeBron was nine years old, he had only seen his father four times. When LeBron was just a baby, Gloria realized that she wouldn’t be able to care for him on her own and he spent some time being cared for by a foster family. Eventually, Gloria was able to get her life together and LeBron went back to living with her.

Gloria worked several jobs to support her family. She worked long hours at a factory during the day and then at a bar at night. Despite the fact that she didn’t have much money, she made sure that her children wanted for nothing. LeBron slept on an air mattress in his childhood home until he was 13 years old; when he got his first bed, it was a waterbed.

Despite the fact that he came from humble beginnings, LeBron excelled in school and on the basketball court from a young age. He was always one of the tallest kids in his grade and began playing organized basketball when he was just nine years old. When he was in fifth grade, he joined an AAU team called the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars

James’ college years

LeBron James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar, and was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Parade Magazine National Player of the Year after his senior year. During his senior year, he also became the first player in Ohio high school basketball history to be named Mr. Basketball three times. James ultimately chose to forgo college and entered the 2003 NBA draft.

James’ professional years

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. A prep-to-pro, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 as the first overall draft pick. Named the 2003–04 NBA Rookie of the Year, he soon established himself as one of the league’s premier players; he won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in 2009 and 2010. After failing to win a championship with Cleveland, James left in 2010 to sign as a free agent with Miami. This move was announced on ESPN live on The Decision and caused an uproar among Cavaliers fans.

He won NBA championships with the Heat in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27-game winning streak, the third longest in league history. Following his final season with the Heat, James opted out of his contract to re-sign with Cleveland in 2014. In 2016, he played for and helped lead Team USA to gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Brazil and again at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Off the court, James has accumulated additional wealth and fame from numerous endorsement contracts; his public life has been subject to much scrutiny throughout his career but he has maintained a relatively good reputation due to his charitable work and commitment to public service despite some controversies regarding aspects of his personal life .

James was born on December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria Marie James, and father Anthony McClelland who died shortly after James was born. Gloria raised James by herself with little help from family members or government assistance; she did not allow young LeBron to use drugs or alcohol or associate with gangs or acquire a criminal record that might prevent him from playing college or professional basketball later on in his career. By age 13, he had begun attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with Gloria while also attending middle school at nearby Saint Vincent–Saint Mary Catholic High School (often abbreviated “STVM”), where he had recently been two grades ahead due to credit recovery As part of STVM’s multimedia class project during his junior year , students were asked to design a business card that represented their aspirations; for LeBron it read “I want to be your next Jordan”. At STVM LeBron became captain of both its football team (wide receiver) as well as its basketball team (shooting guard), leading both squad digital sports broadcast platform Overtime . He also became SVSM’s first African American student body president . During their four-yearrun together LeBron and Dru Joyce III , who would eventually become one of LeBron’s closest childhood friends , led SVSMto three consecutive Division III State Championships ,with an 83–8 (.912) combined record , alongwith state runner up finishes during their freshman(2000)and sophomore(2001)seasons . In addition during their senior season they also became only thesecond high school team ever(after SB Nation currently ranks themas 3rd all time )to finish an entire season undefeated (29–0). Mike Zero , who coached SVSMduring this time period said “We’ve had some great teams but nothing compares topostseason LeBron”, pointing out that during their senior campaign they beat6th ranked Oak Hill Academy twice by 25+ points including a 92–61 victory whereJames tallied 43 points , 18 rebounds , 9 assists ,4 steals & 3 blocks The Irishfinished that game shooting over 70% from 3 point range whereas Oak Hill was helddown below 20%. During this game Opposing coach Steve Smith famously statedthat “This may be one of those times you just have tomove over and give somebody room because they’re not going anywhere “.
In 2002 following his senior year Lebron left Akronand moved upto OH to attend StVincent St Marys HS where Adam Ireland became hia new head coach