“Them two right there; they gotta be up there” - Gary Payton says Vince Carter and Shawn Kemp had the highest verticals of any players that he played with
Vince Carter & Shawn Kemp
@NBAAll-Star/Twitter
The NBA has had some of the very best athletes in the world. Some of these players include Vince Carter and Shawn Kemp, two of the best dunkers in the history of the NBA. While Kemp was a whopping 6'10", Carter stood at just 6'6 and had possibly the most fabulous dunk package of all time. Regardless of their heights, they both have absurd verticals. They also played in a period with some of the greatest defenders of all time and have gotten praise from all-time greats for their athletic abilities.
KG and Payton praise the verticals of Kemp and Carter
Garnett and Payton recently spoke on Garnett's podcast about how athletic Kemp and Carter were. They highlighted their insane verticals, and Garnett asked Payton if Kemp had the highest vertical of anyone he's played with.
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"S**t, you know what? KG, he probably up there, man. You know who I really don't, I really can't, I'd say, and me and you played with him in the Olympics, Vince Carter. I think them the two dudes that we already played with; I think they're up in that era that they can really get it like that, and they would just do some stupid stuff."
Went up like Superman
Kemp's vertical comes in at just 41 inches despite Garnett commenting on it being roughly 60. Kemp is a more underrated dunker but a talented one at that. Winning the dunk contest in 2000, Carter was highly regarded as an amazing dunker early on in his career. He has since made a name for himself as the best dunker of all time, despite having a vertical of just 43 inches - five inches less than Jordan's.
"That was one of the best dudes that I ever played, and he jumped high. We was on that video when he went up and dunked on that dude, and we was sitting there like, we looking at that, that boy went up and up like superman. Them two right there; they gotta be up there."
Payton recalled being mesmerized by this dunk by carter. Calling him superman was ironic as that was the nickname of one of this generation's best dunkers, Dwight Howard. Being ranked at the top of that category in a league full of incredible athletes is very impressive.
