The Highest Vertical Jumps in the NBA

Keon Johnson holds the official NBA record for the highest vertical jump, a 48-inch max vertical leap measured at the 2021 NBA Draft Combine. It broke a mark that had stood for two decades, Kenny Gregory’s 45.5-inch combine record from 2001.

Vertical jump is one of the most debated numbers in basketball, partly because so many of the sport’s most famous leapers were never formally tested. Here is the full leaderboard of the highest verticals ever recorded or reported, why the combine measurement matters, and how the legends compare. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: Keon Johnson’s 48 inches

At the 2021 NBA Draft Combine, guard Keon Johnson recorded a 48-inch max vertical leap, the highest ever measured at the event. The max vertical is taken with a running approach and a step, allowing an athlete to convert momentum into height. Johnson, listed at 6-foot-5, edged past Kenny Gregory’s 45.5-inch mark from 2001 to claim the official record.

Because it was formally measured under standardized conditions, Johnson’s 48 inches is the cleanest benchmark available, more reliable than the mythologized figures attached to earlier stars.

The full leaderboard of the highest verticals

The table below ranks the highest verticals in NBA history. Official NBA Draft Combine results sit alongside widely reported figures for legendary leapers whose jumps were never measured at the modern combine. Reported numbers are noted as estimates.

Rank	Player	Vertical	Source
1	Keon Johnson	48”	2021 NBA Combine (record)
2	Kenny Gregory	45.5”	2001 NBA Combine
3	Nate Robinson	43.5”	NBA Combine
-	Michael Jordan	~46-48”*	Widely reported estimate
-	Zach LaVine	~46”*	Widely reported estimate
-	Wilt Chamberlain	~48”*	Widely reported estimate
-	Darrell Griffith	~48”*	Widely reported estimate
-	James White	~46”*	Widely reported estimate
-	Spud Webb	~42-46”*	Widely reported estimate
-	Vince Carter	~43”*	Widely reported estimate

*Reported estimates that were never measured at the modern NBA Draft Combine and cannot be directly compared to the official records above.

The top of the table is anchored by combine-measured results, while the names below are all-time in-game leapers whose verticals live in basketball folklore rather than the official record book.

Why the combine measurement matters

The reason Johnson holds the record and Michael Jordan does not is standardization. The NBA Draft Combine measures every prospect the same way, with the same equipment, so results can be compared fairly. The jaw-dropping numbers attached to Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain or Darrell Griffith come from a mix of estimates, dunk-contest highlights and secondhand accounts, none measured under combine conditions.

That does not mean those players could not jump 48 inches. It means there is no verified figure, so their leaps remain legendary rather than official. The same physical gifts show up in the game’s tallest and most explosive players, a theme explored in our list of the tallest NBA players of all time.

Standing vs running vertical

The combine records two verticals: the running max vertical, where Johnson hit 48 inches, and the standing no-step vertical, taken from a stationary position. The standing record is far lower, in the mid-30-inch range, because the athlete cannot use a running start to build momentum. Confusing the two is the most common mistake in vertical-jump debates, and it is why some quoted numbers seem impossibly high or surprisingly low.

How leaping translates to the record book

Explosive athleticism is the raw material behind many of basketball’s biggest individual moments, from posterizing dunks to the scoring outbursts on our most points in a single NBA game leaderboard. The same bounce that sets vertical records also fuels the highlight plays that make single-game feats, including the ones that decide the biggest blowout in NBA history, so memorable.

Why the record matters

The highest vertical jump record captures pure explosiveness, the trait that separates good athletes from otherworldly ones. Keon Johnson’s officially measured 48 inches gives the debate a firm anchor, even as the legends of Jordan, LaVine and Chamberlain keep the mythology alive. Until another prospect clears 48 at the combine, Johnson owns the number that counts.

The short version: Keon Johnson holds the official NBA vertical record with a 48-inch max vertical at the 2021 combine, ahead of Kenny Gregory’s 45.5 inches. Famous leapers like Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain are credited with similar heights, but those figures are reported estimates, not official measurements, through the 2025 season.