When was the first time you dunked a ball?
I was 17 I was and am 5'7" about 155lbs. It was in the basketball gym at HS. I was playing basketball for the school. So I was in good shape. If I had to estimate my running jump off one foot it was probably about 38. My standing reach is at max 7'5. I had been trying to dunk the whole season. Everyone was dunking after practice. I had a guy toss me a ball right in front of the rim because I couldn't palm the ball. It wasn't a clean dunk as it rattled in the rim a few times but never popped out and went through. Now I can grab the rim on a good day as I'm 190 pounds and not been playing as much. Haha.
This brings me back. I was 12 the first time I dunked (two months shy of turning 13). It was 17 years ago. It was in a pick up game with some of my school mates at this alternate school I went to briefly (we had all been kicked out of public school). I was about 5'7 at the time and it was a one handed dunk. The dunk was a result from a steal I had made just moments earlier. No one seemed too impressed by it. Our games were pretty rough (prison rules). One of the guys I usually teamed with did give some props though. He was a real high flyer too. For the most part dunking was frowned on. A lot of times once your feet left the ground, you may not have ended up landing on them because someone would've pushed you into the wall.
This was the first and last time I dunked. Less than two months later I was hit by a car. The accident could have been worse considering the speed the car was traveling (40 mph), but luckily I was able to walk away (literally walk). The accident did mess up my knees and back some. A couple years later I did get back into athletics (Tae Kwon Do) and I trained for 3 years under 2 grandmasters and 3 masters. But again, my body quit on me during year three. I did try dunking a few years ago. I hit the backboard but sprained my ankle on the landing. Since then I haven't tried dunking or jumping.
Who or what motivated you to dunk?-- People used to ask me if I can dunk and I said no... so eventually I got more motivated to try and dunk.. at least I was being honest lol
How old were you? I was 18 in the summer that I dunked for the first time which was in July or August... now im 20
How tall were you? 6'2''... ive been 6'2'' since I was 15
Estimated Vert? 26-28 inches... basically tony parker hops lol
Where were you when you dunked?-- Well my first "dunk" was at this playground... but it wasn't a full ten... it was around an inch off... but I later dunked at Lifetime a day before my first day of college
What type of dunk did you do?-- I came from the three point line took some dribbles... went up with one hand... and had me a dunk
What was your reaction?-- I wasn't excited at all...I was just having fun.. I felt good going up so I expected to dunk the ball...
What was the reaction of others who seen you?-- My best friend was with me and we were running 5's with some others... but no one was really shocked or excited... it was a basic dunk that 99.99% of nba players can do
You don't have to be a freak to throw it down at 13 14 or 15 even if your under 6 foot. Lets say your 14 and your 5'10, If you have an average reach with nice size hands then your standing reach will probably be 7'10 or something close to it. If your wingspan is long then you may have an eight foot standing reach. But I'll stick with the 7'10 one. Now to touch the rim you only need 26 inches off the floor so if you dunk it your around 29 or 30 inches. No one ever said they did reverse double pump dunks. We are talking basic dunks. Jumping 30 inches is a nice vert at a young age but if you look around right now there are many young kids with 30 inch verts. Now a freak on the other hand would be at the 36 mark or better. But dunking at under 6 feet at a young age is very believable if you ask me.