Michael Jordan was the GOAT for a multitude of reasons but what first caught people’s attention when he entered the league was his incredible jumping and dunking ability.
Jordan was on another level, taking off from the free-throw line, seemingly flying through the air. There’s a reason he earned the nickname ‘His Airness’, and he has made hundreds of millions off of the Air Jordan name. He once explained where his incredible vertical jump came from.
“I really don’t understand the physics of jumping and how you increase that,” Jordan said. “The things that I can say I did when I was a kid to improve my jumping are very basic things.
“I used to ride the bicycle a lot, I used to work on jumping. I used to just try to jump and try to dunk. And I guess if you exercise that muscle to that activity, somehow it’s gonna improve.”
Michael Jordan reportedly had a vertical of 48 inches during his playing career and a hangtime of 0.92 seconds, both of which are absurd to think about. By the time he got established in the league, Jordan had access to top trainers like Tim Grover, but initially, he made it big off of hard work and talent. No one worked as much as MJ did, but it’s safe to say that he was also just special more than anything else.
Michael Jordan’s Dunking Legacy Is Arguably The Greatest In NBA History
Not only did Michael Jordan have the freakish jumping ability, but he also made good use of it. The GOAT was known for dunking viciously despite tough defense, as he showed when he dunked on three Pistons players while getting hit. And he would seek out top blockers too, like the time he sought out Dikembe Mutombo and put him on a poster.
It wasn’t just in games that Jordan was wowing audiences, he was also the first player to win back-to-back NBA Slam Dunk Contests in 1987 and 1988. He did things that fans and players alike had never seen before, and it only helped to grow his legend.
Michael Jordan eventually became a six-time champion and Finals MVP, the GOAT. But before he had anything, he could hang in the air and that’s what set him up to be the ultimate basketball legend.
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