Dunk calculator

How high do you need to jump to dunk? Enter your height or standing reach for the vertical you need to touch a 10 ft rim and to dunk, and measure yours.

Dunk calculatorFree · no sign-up

Your height

Standing reach

Optional. Feet flat, one arm straight up.

Your vertical

To dunk on a 10 ft rim you need

30.2 in76.8 cm of vertical jump

To touch the rim: 24.2 in
Standing reach: 8 ft 0 in (estimated from your height)

Don't know your vertical? Film a jump and measure it below.

How to use it

01Enter your height. If you can, measure your standing reach: feet flat, one arm straight up against a wall.
02Read the vertical you need to touch the rim and to dunk.
03Enter your vertical, or measure it with the tester further down, to see how close you are.

The numbers behind it

The rim is 10 ft (304.8 cm) above the floor [1]; FIBA sets it at 3,050 mm [2]. To touch it you need a jump of 10 ft minus your standing reach. To dunk you need your hand higher still, because the ball, about 24 cm (9.5 in) across [2], has to go over the rim. There's no published standard for how much higher: the calculator uses the common estimate of about 6 in (15 cm).

Leave standing reach blank and it's estimated as 1.33 × your height, the ratio of NBA draft prospects' reach to their height [3]. They have long arms, so measuring your own reach gives a better answer. To raise your vertical, see how to jump higher.

Vertical needed to dunk by height

With typical long-armed proportions and the 6 in estimate above. Your own standing reach changes these numbers: measure it and use the calculator.

Estimates: standing reach taken as 1.33 × height, and about 6 in above the rim to dunk
Height	Standing reach	To touch the rim	To dunk
5 ft 6 in	7 ft 4 in	32.2 in	38.2 in
5 ft 7 in	7 ft 5 in	30.9 in	36.9 in
5 ft 8 in	7 ft 6 in	29.6 in	35.6 in
5 ft 9 in	7 ft 8 in	28.2 in	34.2 in
5 ft 10 in	7 ft 9 in	26.9 in	32.9 in
5 ft 11 in	7 ft 10 in	25.6 in	31.6 in
6 ft 0 in	8 ft 0 in	24.2 in	30.2 in
6 ft 1 in	8 ft 1 in	22.9 in	28.9 in
6 ft 2 in	8 ft 2 in	21.6 in	27.6 in
6 ft 3 in	8 ft 4 in	20.3 in	26.3 in
6 ft 4 in	8 ft 5 in	18.9 in	24.9 in
6 ft 5 in	8 ft 6 in	17.6 in	23.6 in
6 ft 6 in	8 ft 8 in	16.3 in	22.3 in

What dunkers jump

Group	Standing reach	Jump to touch the rim	Vertical jump
NBA point guards (drafted)	247.8 cm (8 ft 1.6 in)	57.0 cm (22.4 in)	91.9 cm (36.2 in) running [3]
NBA centres (drafted)	278.2 cm (9 ft 1.5 in)	26.6 cm (10.5 in)	81.1 cm (31.9 in) running [3]
NBA slam dunk finalists			102.4 cm (40.3 in) running [4]

Standing or running

Most dunks come off a run-up. At the NBA combine, the running vertical beat the standing one by 10–15 cm [3]. The tester measures standing jumps, so a dunk off a few steps has a little more to work with than your standing result.

Measure your jump

Test your jumpFree · no install

Upload a video

Best: a slow-motion video from your camera app. On iPhone, slow motion takes a few seconds to prepare after you pick it. Your video stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.

Set up in 30 seconds

1Put the phone on the floor or at knee height, 2–3 m (7–10 ft) away, so your whole body and both feet are in the picture.
2Stand still, jump straight up as high as you can, and land on the same spot with straight legs.
3Then step through the video and mark two frames: take-off and landing.

Questions

How high do I need to jump to dunk?

About 10 ft minus your standing reach, plus roughly 6 in (15 cm) to get the ball over the rim. With an 8 ft standing reach that's 24 in to touch the rim and about 30 in to dunk.

How much vertical do you need to dunk at 5'10"?

About 33 in with typical long-armed proportions (an estimated 7 ft 9 in reach): 27 in to touch the rim and about 6 in more to dunk. Measure your own reach for a better number.

Can a 6 ft person dunk?

With typical long-armed proportions (an 8 ft reach), a 6 ft player needs about 24 in to touch the rim and about 30 in to dunk. Measure your own reach for a better number.

How tall is a basketball rim?

10 ft (304.8 cm) to the top of the rim, in the NBA and under FIBA rules (3,050 mm).

Does a run-up help?

Yes. NBA prospects jumped 10–15 cm higher with a run-up than standing.

More on the vertical jump

Average vertical jumpAverage vertical jump by age and sex from a national survey of 5,188 people, plus college athletes and the NBA and NFL combines. See your percentile.How to jump higherHow to jump higher: technique you can use today, like arm swing and the dip, and the training that adds 2–6 cm over 10+ weeks, from research reviews.Vertical jump calculatorWork out your vertical jump from flight time, from video frames at any frame rate, or from jump and reach, in inches or centimetres. Free, with the formula.