I heard somewhere before that the average person has about an 18" vertical leap. Now the average NBA player probably has more than that. But as for Yao, I wouldn't be surprised if his vert is less than 18". In fact, I think it is obvious by watching him. Vertical leap correlates very strongly with quickness. That is why the big jumpers are also usually quite quick on their feet - another area where Yao is not strong. Shaq is pretty quick and jumps pretty high for his size. However, Yao can dominate with his size, footwork, and touch alone. He would probably be more dominant if he were meaner on the floor, but maybe he wouldn't be as well liked.

Sorry, I meant to post this under the previous topic, but something went wrong!

I have a thirteen incher. How do you measure it again?

you measure vertical leap by taking one full step and then jumping. i just measure how high i can reach without jumping, and then how high i can touch when i'm jumping...then subtract...and u get ur vertical.

I heard on espn, a few months before the Yao draft that Yao lost about 3 inches of his vertical leap from working on his leg muscles so much.

It was reported that he lost 4" of his vertical leap from doing squatting !!

Wow, I didn't know you could lose vertical leap when increasing leg strength. When they measure how high you reach while standing, is that on your tippy-toes?

u stand with your feet flat on the ground

I guess you can't pull your leg up then.

i've heard in many places that squatting helps you gain a higher vertical thats why professional weight-lifters usually have the highest verticals of any athletes