Thread by @MythNix

MICHAEL JORDAN’S ATHLETICISM MYTHS 🧵

He Could Jump 48 Inches!
He Ran a 4.38!

No.

MJ fans constantly marvel at these two fake athletic feats. “So incredible!”

Of course, MJ didn’t do anything close to these two things. It’s typical MJ exaggeration.

Let’s take a closer look.

MJ fans say Jordan had the greatest vertical leap in the NBA ever, at 48 inches.

Except, it’s just not true.

In high school and college, before he had a PR team, his leap was estimated between 39 and 42 inches.

It’s referenced several times. Nothing approaching 48.

Note: The WORLD RECORD at the time was by David Thompson, 44 inches.

If MJ could jump 48 inches, why wouldn’t he set the world record? He could have an off day, miss by 8% and STILL own it.

Doesn’t that help his marketing appeal? 🤔

The only answer is…he didn’t jump 48”.

There’s also no video evidence of 48 inches.

At either 6’5 or 6’6 (take your pick), his head would need to be 6 inches above the rim, looking down. There’s no video of that.

Note: if you see a rim and you can see both the back and front of it, the picture is from the floor.

This, by the way, is what a 48 inch leap looks like at his height.

People also talk about this study from UNC:

1) The report isn’t blessed by UNC. It’s not official.
2) It doesn’t even say 48”
3) It has faulty data

His jump is measured at 46 inches, but his hip only goes up 38”. Is MJ elastic? Was Space Jam real? Can I meet Bugs Bunny?

MJ’s standing reach is measured at 93 inches in the study.

The typical ratio for standing measurements is 1.34X height. At 78 inches, he should reach 104.5 inches.

So were his arms 11 inches shorter than average? He got all those steals with stubby arms?

The “study” is joke.

MJ fans will then scream and cry and clip in an old Bleacher Report that says he’s at 48 inches.

But…Bleacher was an OPEN SOURCE periodical in 2010. Anyone could’ve written for it.

Rich Fernandes can be found. Guess what? He wasn’t a sports writer.

It’s unedited click bait.

MJ Fans will then say, no, no…you can increase your vertical with training!

1) Video doesn’t support a higher jump in the 90s
2) Elite athletes don’t get 6-8 inches better. Bad athletes might.

If true, we’d hear about players reaching their vertical jump maturity routinely.

When have you heard: “Bob is a great athlete in his first year. Just wait until he reaches his full vertical leap maturity and adds another 6-8 inches of vertical leap with training.”

Or…

“The team is surprised he’s only added 3 inches of vertical so far. “

Let me know.

Finally, MJ fans will also come back and say there was an Olympic measurement.

There wasn’t. There’s no reason for a measurement, and no evidence exists it was done. MJ wasn’t fighting for a roster spot.

The 48 inch vertical is entirely a fairy tale.

It’s 42 -43 inches.

On to the 4.38 40 at Carolina.

There’s a story out there from Roy Williams that they timed Jordan unofficially in a 40 at 4.38, and everyone was shocked. Couldn’t believe it!

Except…they also clearly describe that it was HAND TIMED.

That’s a problem. Hand timing is FASTER.

A study was done on hand-timed 40s and they…time fast.

It concluded that hand timers click late at the start and record 0.10 to 0.25 faster than the actual run. 0.175 on average.

That would put MJ’s 40 at 4.55 seconds.

With no training beforehand…a more logical answer.

Jordan fans will scream…”Roy Williams said it! Roy Williams said it!!! Are you going to question ROY WILLIAMS?!?

Yup.

It was a bunch of folks hand timing 2 runs. All starting late. Not counting 0.2 at the start, on average. Leading to a faster time.

It’s a myth. 4.5 - 4.6.

So what we have is an athlete who can run a 4.55 40 with no training, and a guy jumping 42 inches.

It’s elite athleticism.

It’s just not the Paul Bunyan-like mythology that we’ve all been told.

If Jordan’s fans need to lie win the GOAT argument…we know what that means. 🧐