In the NBA, you have to be able to jump high. While not every player can sky themselves past the rim or touch the top of the backboard, even the ones with the lowest verticals can dunk with relative ease. Ja Morant, despite his smaller size, can dunk with the best of them.
This guide will take a look at Ja Morant’s vertical from a variety of angles. It will break down his current jumping ability, his past dunking ventures, as well as how he managed to improve his vertical so drastically in such a few short years.
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The Vertical
Before getting to Ja’s jumping journey, we first need to address this article’s core question: what is his current vertical?
Ja Morant, standing at 6’3, can jump an incredible 44 inches. That makes him one of the bounciest players in the league and gives him an edge over many other guards.
That explosiveness, alongside his deadly long-range shooting ability, is one of the biggest reasons he went second overall in the draft.
It’s also how he managed to take the Grizzlies from a middling team to a true playoff contender in just a few short years.
A Slow Start
Being able to jump high doesn’t automatically make a player good. However, it’s a pretty strong indicator of athletic ability and high potential.
Ja is known as one of the most athletic players in the NBA, but he wasn’t always that way. In fact, jumping wasn’t even his strong suit growing up.
For all of his current abilities, Ja couldn’t even dunk until his senior year of high school. That might sound unbelievable, but it’s an indicator of how hard he’s had to work.
He began trying to improve his leaping ability from a young age, which paid off as time went on.
A big part of that came from his father, who had him run a series of drills in the backyard. He would jump up on tires, which steadily got larger and larger each year they practiced. Now, he’s able to dunk on even the tallest players in the league.
How Does Morant Stack Up?
While Morant’s vertical sounds impressive, looking at the rest of the league gives context for just how high he can get. The NBA average vertical is 28 inches. That’s great compared to the normal population, but it’s far, far below where Morant can leap too.
On the other end of the spectrum, the highest vertical ever recorded was Michael Jordan’s unbelievable 48 inches. That means Morant sits only four inches below the greatest leaper to even play in the NBA. An incredibly impressive mark.
Additionally, if history is any indicator Morant will only likely improve as his career continues to flourish. He may never get to Jordan’s, no player ever had, but he still has a great head start.
Morant isn’t afraid of going up against anyone, and he continues to try new and improved leaping drills even now. He’s no longer jumping on tires, but leg workouts and vertical practices both go a long way towards getting him a few extra inches.
Final Words
Ja Morant is one of the best jumpers in the NBA, and he has the skills to back it up. Where a lot of dunkers were rather one dimensional, Morant is able to pass, defend, and shoot at a reasonable pace. His athletic ability is merely one part of a complete player.
He has said he’s not interested in joining the Dunk Contest, which might prevent fans from seeing his true potential, but there’s no doubt he will improve. Even if he isn’t the best jumper the NBA has ever seen, he’s one of them. That’s still pretty darn good.
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