There is no debate. LeBron James is quite the freak when it comes to raw athleticism. Standing at 6-foot-9, the Lakers superstar weighs 250 pounds and is still playing with incredible dominance at age 37.
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Bron is easily one of the most physically gifted talents the league has witnessed. Even in Year 20, The King can manage to throw down a few monstrous dunks over a defender or two. Undoubtedly, the 4-time MVP is one of the more bouncy players in league history.
Millions of LeBron James fans are in awe of the icon’s leaping ability. However, there is one player whose bounce has left James starstruck – Vince Carter.
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“Vince Carter really had you believing that the Shox technology made you jump like that”: LeBron James
Vince Carter played in the league from 1998-2020. In those 22 seasons, Carter never really won any major accolades apart from the 1999 ROTY, 8 All-Stars selections, and a couple of All-NBA selections.
However, Carter is regarded as one of the best in-game dunkers in the history of the game. A few memorable dunks come to mind – The Dunk of Death vs France, Posterizer over Alonzo Mourning, and a rookie VC’s flush all over Dikembe Mutombo, among a long list of others.
There have been a vast majority of basketball enthusiasts who have been left speechless seeing the Raptors legend’s gravity-defying jams. Add LeBron James to this list of fans.
In an appearance on a podcast, Bron spoke about the belief Carter instilled in kids when dunking the basketball in the brutal way that he would. Bron further joked that Air Canada had the youth believing that Nike’s Shox technology would actually make them jump like Carter. James hilariously said:
Vince had kids actually believing that they can jump if they put on a pair of Nike Shox. Vince really had you believing that the Shox technology in those shoes would make you jump like that.
What was Vince Carter’s vertical?
Of course, during the tail-end of his career, Vince lost a lot of his bounce. However, during his prime, the 6-foot-6 slasher was a force to reckon with.
According to several reports, the former North Carolina Tar Heel had a staggering 43-inch vertical.
Thanks to this insane leap, and an incredibly deep offensive arsenal, Carter managed to retire with 16.7 points per game over the 1,500 games he took on the floor.
With 941 career dunks, Vince Carter remains one of the most lethal assassins while in the air.
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