Zion Williamson is now 6'7 285. + Other updated measurements.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Same for me. Watching DT is what got me hooked on basketball as a middle schooler. 48" is the figure I always remember being quoted for his vertical, but can't say I recall the exact source(s).

My cousin's family had season tix to State games then, all through the 70s....and I went to a good number of those games with them. And man, with that team, I don't think the Lakers could've beaten them in Reynolds. Reynolds was off the hook then.

[PackMan97]

Same for me. Watching DT is what got me hooked on basketball as a middle schooler. 48" is the figure I always remember being quoted for his vertical, but can't say I recall the exact source(s).

The legend is that if you put a quarter on the top of a backboard, DT could grab it and leave two dimes and a nickel. DT has denied that ability, stating he didn't have enough hang time...he could touch the top of the backboard.

Keep in mind DT was only 6'4".

[ikiru36]

The legend is that if you put a quarter on the top of a backboard, DT could grab it and leave two dimes and a nickel. DT has denied that ability, stating he didn't have enough hang time...he could touch the top of the backboard.

Keep in mind DT was only 6'4".

To be fair, he may have benefited somewhat from Men's footwear of the era.

220px-Playwithbootsy.jpg

[Truth&Justise]

Not saying it's not true, but it seems hard to believe. At 285 lbs, he can vertically leap higher than: Grant Hill, Grayson Allen, Corey Maggette, Gerald Henderson?

That's hard to believe, but scary good if true.

I also find it hard to believe. Think of all the biggest basketball players on the planet--the enforcers, big-bodied rebounders, and guys who exist to eat up space under the basket. Behemoths like Jusuf Nurkic, Timofey Mozgov, Andre Drummond, Kendrick Perkins, DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson, the Lopez Twins. At 285 pounds, Zion would outweigh each of them. In fact, only one player has a listed weight above 285: 7'3" Boban Marjanovic, who clocks in at 290, just a bit above Zion's listed weight.

That just doesn't seem believable. I'm much more inclined to think that teams fudge their measurements, but usually that's to make guys an inch or two taller. It's rarer for weight, and in most cases that's to pretend that a guy like Shaq is more svelte then he actually is.

Which leads to a problem: I can't figure out why he or Duke would massage the numbers to make him appear heavier.




(For college references: Zoubek was listed at 260. Will Graves, who got chided for being overweight at UNC, was listed at 240. Even Beejay Anya was...nah, it doesn't go that far. Anya was listed at 320 pounds, and was probably heavier than that.)

[CDu]

The legend is that if you put a quarter on the top of a backboard, DT could grab it and leave two dimes and a nickel. DT has denied that ability, stating he didn't have enough hang time...he could touch the top of the backboard.

Keep in mind DT was only 6'4".

Thompson has said in an interview that he could touch the top of the backboard. But, again, it's almost certainly not true. Unless the glass was much lower back then, and I don't think it was. For Thompson to reach the top of the backboard (13 feet high), he'd have to have a vertical leap of well over 50 inches to even approach the top of the backboard: his standing reach was almost certainly not 9 feet (probably closer to 8'6"-8'8" given his height), and a person with a 9 foot standing reach would need a 48 inch vertical to reach to the top of the backboard. The highest vertical ever measured at the combine was 46 inches. I've seen reports of Thompson having a 44 inch vertical and a 48 inch vertical. Neither would leave him anywhere close to reaching the top of the backboard.

Now, MAYBE Thompson could touch the top of a playground hoop backboard that isn't regulation height. But I'm guessing this is just a case of Thompson having some fun with folks and urging the myth on.

[PackMan97]

To be fair, he may have benefited somewhat from Men's footwear of the era.

220px-Playwithbootsy.jpg

Dear God! Weren't State's "unitard" uniforms bad enough? Seriously...make fun of State for all the true things we've done. Need need to make stuff up.

[907bluedevils]

Did they do body fat % measurements? Interested in seeing Zion's

[mike88]

Thompson has said in an interview that he could touch the top of the backboard. But, again, it's almost certainly not true. Unless the glass was much lower back then, and I don't think it was. For Thompson to reach the top of the backboard (13 feet high), he'd have to have a vertical leap of well over 50 inches to even approach the top of the backboard: his standing reach was almost certainly not 9 feet (probably closer to 8'6"-8'8" given his height), and a person with a 9 foot standing reach would need a 48 inch vertical to reach to the top of the backboard. The highest vertical ever measured at the combine was 46 inches. I've seen reports of Thompson having a 44 inch vertical and a 48 inch vertical. Neither would leave him anywhere close to reaching the top of the backboard.

Now, MAYBE Thompson could touch the top of a playground hoop backboard that isn't regulation height. But I'm guessing this is just a case of Thompson having some fun with folks and urging the myth on.

I don't think it was ever said that he could do it from standing still- but rather with a running start- still, that would be pretty impressive!

[Kedsy]

Thompson has said in an interview that he could touch the top of the backboard. But, again, it's almost certainly not true. Unless the glass was much lower back then, and I don't think it was. For Thompson to reach the top of the backboard (13 feet high), he'd have to have a vertical leap of well over 50 inches to even approach the top of the backboard: his standing reach was almost certainly not 9 feet (probably closer to 8'6"-8'8" given his height), and a person with a 9 foot standing reach would need a 48 inch vertical to reach to the top of the backboard. The highest vertical ever measured at the combine was 46 inches. I've seen reports of Thompson having a 44 inch vertical and a 48 inch vertical. Neither would leave him anywhere close to reaching the top of the backboard.

Now, MAYBE Thompson could touch the top of a playground hoop backboard that isn't regulation height. But I'm guessing this is just a case of Thompson having some fun with folks and urging the myth on.

A 6'5" guy named Michael Wilson (who was affiliated with the Globetrotters) set a "world record" by alley-oop dunking on a 12-foot rim. There's video, and his hand gets above the ball as he dunks it, which would put his hand about 12'9" above the ground. I don't know what his standing reach was, but his vertical in the video was almost certainly much greater than 46 inches. Though he was an inch taller than DT, it's not inconceivable that DT could jump as high or higher than some guy nobody's ever heard of. Meaning DT may have been able to at least get close to the top of the backboard.

There's also video out there of 5'9" Nate Robinson dunking a tennis ball on a 12-foot hoop, which would put his hand about 12'3" above the ground. Robinson's standing reach was reportedly 7'7.5", which would make his vertical on the video dunk 53.5". So either the video is fake, the rim wasn't really 12', or the rules of the combine don't allow players to achieve their absolute highest jump. My guess is the latter, but who knows? If it's legit, then a 6'4" guy with Robinson's hops would get awfully close to the top. And, again, it's not inconceivable that David Thompson had a better vertical than Nate Robinson.

[luvdahops]

I don't think it was ever said that he could do it from standing still- but rather with a running start- still, that would be pretty impressive!

Exactly. It's been established that touching the top of the backboard on an NBA Draft Combine basis (i.e. 2-step max vert) seems implausible if not impossible. But I think it is entirely plausible that DT, among others, was able to touch the top of the backboard with a running start.

[luvdahops]

I also find it hard to believe. Think of all the biggest basketball players on the planet--the enforcers, big-bodied rebounders, and guys who exist to eat up space under the basket. Behemoths like Jusuf Nurkic, Timofey Mozgov, Andre Drummond, Kendrick Perkins, DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, Al Jefferson, the Lopez Twins. At 285 pounds, Zion would outweigh each of them. In fact, only one player has a listed weight above 285: 7'3" Boban Marjanovic, who clocks in at 290, just a bit above Zion's listed weight.

That just doesn't seem believable. I'm much more inclined to think that teams fudge their measurements, but usually that's to make guys an inch or two taller. It's rarer for weight, and in most cases that's to pretend that a guy like Shaq is more svelte then he actually is.

Which leads to a problem: I can't figure out why he or Duke would massage the numbers to make him appear heavier.




(For college references: Zoubek was listed at 260. Will Graves, who got chided for being overweight at UNC, was listed at 240. Even Beejay Anya was...nah, it doesn't go that far. Anya was listed at 320 pounds, and was probably heavier than that.)

Is it possible that the last 2 numbers were transposed in posting the roster, so that Zion weighs 258 rather than 285? That seems a lot more plausible to me, and would put him in the same zip code as Barkley (listed at 6-6, 252) and Larry Johnson (listed at 6-7, 250), two players to whom he is often compared.

[CDu]

I don't think it was ever said that he could do it from standing still- but rather with a running start- still, that would be pretty impressive!

I didn’t say standing still either. I listed max verticals (which involve a running start) and standing reach (the starting point from the ground).

[luvdahops]

I didn’t say standing still either. I listed max verticals (which involve a running start) and standing reach (the starting point from the ground).

I'm pretty sure the NBA Combine max vertical measurement is with two steps (vs standing for the other vertical measurement), not a running start.

[CDu]

A 6'5" guy named Michael Wilson (who was affiliated with the Globetrotters) set a "world record" by alley-oop dunking on a 12-foot rim. There's video, and his hand gets above the ball as he dunks it, which would put his hand about 12'9" above the ground. I don't know what his standing reach was, but his vertical in the video was almost certainly much greater than 46 inches. Though he was an inch taller than DT, it's not inconceivable that DT could jump as high or higher than some guy nobody's ever heard of. Meaning DT may have been able to at least get close to the top of the backboard.

There's also video out there of 5'9" Nate Robinson dunking a tennis ball on a 12-foot hoop, which would put his hand about 12'3" above the ground. Robinson's standing reach was reportedly 7'7.5", which would make his vertical on the video dunk 53.5". So either the video is fake, the rim wasn't really 12', or the rules of the combine don't allow players to achieve their absolute highest jump. My guess is the latter, but who knows? If it's legit, then a 6'4" guy with Robinson's hops would get awfully close to the top. And, again, it's not inconceivable that David Thompson had a better vertical than Nate Robinson.

That NateRob video is almost certainly not on a 12-ft rim. Probably 11’ or 11’6”. His descent isn’t nearly far enough down to be a 4’8” vertical.

And the combine is definitely not a true max vertical - it is a two-step max vertical. But remember: Thompson would need to have a ~54” vertical to reach the top. That would require him to have the highest 2-step max vertical ever AND have his running max be ~20% higher than his 2-step max AND be able to coordinate his running jump to reach the backboard right at the apex of his jump.

That strains credibility. I think the much more likely scenario is that Thompson is stretching the truth a bit.

[weezie]

To be fair, he may have benefited somewhat from Men's footwear of the era.

220px-Playwithbootsy.jpg

Oh hold up...anybody wanting to cast a jaded eye upon the great Bootsy Collins will definitely be under observation from the weezie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMNQ3JCGddQ

[luvdahops]

That NateRob video is almost certainly not on a 12-ft rim. Probably 11’ or 11’6”. His descent isn’t nearly far enough down to be a 4’8” vertical.

And the combine is definitely not a true max vertical - it is a two-step max vertical. But remember: Thompson would need to have a ~54” vertical to reach the top. That would require him to have the highest 2-step max vertical ever AND have his running max be ~20% higher than his 2-step max AND be able to coordinate his running jump to reach the backboard right at the apex of his jump.

That strains credibility. I think the much more likely scenario is that Thompson is stretching the truth a bit.

I don't know. At this year's combine, quite a few guys added 8 inches (~25%, and more in some cases) in going from standing to 2-step. So it seems at least plausible to me that someone could add as much or more to their 2-step max with a running start.

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-strength-agility/

[rsvman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1-c8kg0DE

You can watch this and judge for yourself, but it appears to show a guy I've never heard of reaching 13-feet with a running start (happens at about the 3:05 mark). So unless this is fabricated (which I suppose it could be), apparently reaching 13 feet is not humanly impossible.

[Spanarkel]

Thompson has said in an interview that he could touch the top of the backboard. But, again, it's almost certainly not true. Unless the glass was much lower back then, and I don't think it was. For Thompson to reach the top of the backboard (13 feet high), he'd have to have a vertical leap of well over 50 inches to even approach the top of the backboard: his standing reach was almost certainly not 9 feet (probably closer to 8'6"-8'8" given his height), and a person with a 9 foot standing reach would need a 48 inch vertical to reach to the top of the backboard. The highest vertical ever measured at the combine was 46 inches. I've seen reports of Thompson having a 44 inch vertical and a 48 inch vertical. Neither would leave him anywhere close to reaching the top of the backboard.

Now, MAYBE Thompson could touch the top of a playground hoop backboard that isn't regulation height. But I'm guessing this is just a case of Thompson having some fun with folks and urging the myth on.

Thompson's head is nearly touching the Clemson banner(top row/3rd photo from left).

http://www.google.com/search?biw=192...0...1c.1.64.i

[jipops]

5 pounds lighter than any other scholarship player... feed that kid many protein milkshakes!

If the kid can move his feet and drain 3’s this really doesn’t matter.

[CDu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1-c8kg0DE

You can watch this and judge for yourself, but it appears to show a guy I've never heard of reaching 13-feet with a running start (happens at about the 3:05 mark). So unless this is fabricated (which I suppose it could be), apparently reaching 13 feet is not humanly impossible.

Yeah, that wasn’t close to 13 feet.