by Andrew Freedman

Created on: June 11, 2008   Last Updated: December 12, 2011

Vertical leaping ability was and is still an important skill in Basketball. It's just not
the only skill that matters. Any player with the natural jumping ability of a Michael Jordan is immediately at an advantage over their opponents. But while Michael Jordan is the greatest Basketball player ever, Dominque Wilkins, who also had great leaping ability, never became the same type of superstar. Both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird could dunk the Basketball, but by N.B.A. standards Magic and Bird weren't great at jumping. However both Magic and Bird were better all around Basketball players then all the guys who could jump high.

While leaping ability matters, Basketball isn't just about jumping and scoring. It's also about playing Defense, passing the ball,and rebounding. What made Michael Jordan the greatest player of all time was his determination to become a great defensive player. Michael Jordan never wanted to be thought of as a guy who just jumped high. Michael Jordan was smart enough to use his leaping ability to score baskets.But he also developed his other skills as well. Which is why at the end of his career, when his leaping ability faded, Michael Jordan was able to use that fall away jump shot to win a bunch of titles.

So it's not that a Vertical Jump isn't a priority. It's just that players who can't jump
can get around it by developing their other physical skills as well. Magic Johnson had his passing game and his baby hook shot, to offset the fact he couldn't leap over a lot of people. Larry Bird developed an outside shot and a passing game, to offset the fact that he also couldn't leap over a lot of people. Out of the three greatest players to come along in the last 30 years, only one, Michael Jordan, had a great vertical jump. The other two, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, found ways around that weakness. But make no mistake about it, both Magic and Bird would've loved to have Michael Jordan's leaping ability. So vertical leaping ability is a great asset in Basketball. It's just not the end of the world if you don't have it, because there are ways around that weakness.

Of course, today Vertical Leaping ability isn't used by players the way it used to be. Back in the late 1980's and early 90's, superstar players would drive to the basket 20 to 30 times a night. And everyone would come to a Basketball game with the expectation that they were going to see a slam dunk festival. But today in 2008, Basketball players are bigger then they used to be. Having a man who is 6'10 290 pounds smash into you is a lot more painful then having a man who is 6'10 190 pounds hit you. The players today haven't gotten any taller but they have gotten stockier. And plus today the N.B.A. allows teams to use the same type of Zone defense system that is used at the College level. If the players continue to get bigger, weight not height wise, and the league continues to allow teams to play zone defense, in the next 10 years you will see fewer players trying to dunk.

So while I still think Vertical Leaping ability is an important skill for a Basketball player to have, it is a skill that you can still become great without. In the future Vertical Leaping Ability may become even less important.

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