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Vertical Jump Test Results

What is it?

The vertical jump test is a common fitness test of leg power. The test is usually performed against a wall or similar device to measure the height jumped, but can also be tested using a timing mat. These results are assumed to be using the counter-movement technique, in which the arms are used to help propel the body upwards, though it may not always be the case. For more information, see vertical jump techniques.

Top Scores

The world record vertical jump has been reported as up to 61" (155 cm) by Kadour Ziani (other reports for top leaps for Kadour range from 56"/142cm upwards). He is the highest Vertical Leaper from Slamnation, and stands 5'10 tall. His other claim to fame is that he is the only person ever-ever to do a double windmill slam dunk. His best vertical jump is more than twice the average NBA vertical leap of 28" (71 cm). For more information about the world record scores, see our list of the World's Best vertical jump scores.

Basketball

Darrell Griffith of the Utah Jazz in the 80’s had record standing vertical leap of 48 inch. I think that David Thompson of the Denver Nuggest in the 80’s had vertical leap between 44 – 48 inch.(ref: unconfirmed details from a visitor to this site)
Darryl McDonald of the Melbourne Tigers NBL team has a 74 cm vertical jump off three steps. This is the best of Tiger guards (taken from the Age online, 12 Jan 08).
An article about big jumpers includes David "Skywalker" Thompson. They say that various reports put his vertical jump at 44 to 48 inches (foxsports.com, Oct 2007).
The top 5 vertical jump (no step) results from the 2006 NBA draft camp were 37.5 inches Dwayne Mitchell, 35.0 Ronnie Brewer, 35.0 Curtis Withers, 35.0 Will Blalock, and 34.5 David Noel. (see more NBA draft results).
The average NBA vertical leap of 28" (71 cm).
Below is a list of some of the reported top scores by a variety of NBA players. These results have not been confirmed.

Player:	Vertical Leap:
Michael Jordan	48" (122 cm)
Darrell Griffith	48" (122 cm)
Spudd Webb	46"
Dee Brown	44"
Harold Miner	44"
Vince Carter	43"
Steve Francis	43"
Antonio McDyess	42"
Dominique Wilkins	42"
Allen Iverson	41" (104 cm)
Dr. J	41"
Julius Erving	41"
Shawn Kemp	40" (102 cm)
Larry Nance	40"
Rex Chapmann	39"
Kobe Bryant	38"
Desmond Mason	38"
Ralph Sampson	36"
Daryl Dawkins	34"
Shaquille Oneal	32"
Lamar Odom	32"
Magic Johnson	30"
Karl Malone	28"
Larry Bird	28"

NFL

New York Jets rookie Darrelle Revis has a 38-inch vertical jump this year (NY Times, Oct 2007).
Randy Moss has a vertical leap score of 51" (130 cm), while 265 lbs Jevon Kearse has a best jump of 40" (102 cm).
The best vertical jump at the NFL Combine is 46" by Gerald Sensabaugh (FS), from North Carolina in 2005 (more NFL combine results).

Volleyball

The father of Tuioti-Mariner of the Hawaii Warriors (NFL) competed in volleyball at the South Pacific Games, and had a 45-inch vertical jump (from the Honolulu Advertiser, March 2008).
Leonel Marshall reportedly has a 50" (127 cm) vertical leap from standing. He is the star of Men's Cuban National Volleyball team. Search for him on YouTube and you will see some sensational jumping action of him.

Rugby

Average of Newcastle Knights squad (n=66) was 68 cm (range 47 - 79 cm) (personal communication, Lee Clark). There are more fitness test results from the Newcastle Knights).
The Springboks in 2007 expected scores for the vertical jump ranged from at least 68 cm for the outside backs down to 55 cm for the props (more on Springboks norms).

Aussie Rules Football

Brett Deledio, AFL footballer from Richmond, scored 76 cm on his vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).
The vertical jump test is performed at the Draft Camp each year. Some of the best results are: Trent Croad 83cm in 1997 and David Gourdis 81cm in 2007, See more draft camp results.

Athletics

Sean Wroe, Australian Olympic 400m sprinter, scored 85 cm on his vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).

Jockey / Horse Racing

Michael Rodd, Melbourne Cup winning jockey, scored 55 cm on his vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).

Triathlon

Erin Densham, Olympic Triathlete, scored 35 cm on her vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).

Weightlifting

Some impressive vertical jump results are presented for a couple of quite heavy champion weight lifters. Nicu Vlad of Romania (bodyweight 100 kg / 220 lbs), World Record holder and two-time Olympic Weight lifting medallist in 1990, recorded a 42" vertical jump. American Wesley Barnett, 3-time Olympian and Silver Medallist at the 1997 World Championships (he is 6'1" tall and weighs 105 kg / 231 lbs), has recorded vertical jumps of over 39". (data from an article "Pulling To Jump Higher" by Chad Ikei).

Rowing

Drew Ginn, Australian Olympic rower, scored 53 cm on his vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).

Cycling

Peta Mullens, Australian cyclist, scored 47 cm on her vertical jump test (Herald Sun Newspaper, 16 April 2009).

Other

Player:	Sport / team	Vertical Leap:
Kadour Ziani	Slamnation	somewhere between 56-61" (142-155 cm)
Reggie Thompson	Jumpsoles	56"
Michael Wilson	Globetrotters	51"
Ronnie Fields	CBA	48"
Melvin Levett		45"
Brandon Dean	NCAA	39"

References

some of the above scores were sourced from Vertcoach.com

procedure for Vertical Jump Testing and using the Timing Mat method
testing Vertical Jump at home
vertical jump devices in the fitness testing store
About vertical jump techniques
converting results to power units and converting results from cm to inches
Other fitness test results
Top vertical jump scores
More Scores? I scan the internet for the latest athlete results. If you know of something I have missed, I would love to hear from you.