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USA Today
28-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Dončić never recorded a 42-inch vertical at NBA Draft Combine
An article claimed that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Dončić recorded a 42-inch vertical at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. He was never even there. In a fascinating feature story from Men's Health, basketball fans were given remarkable insight into the body transformation that Dončić has had so far this summer. There was a lot of great stuff to unpack from this story about how the former Mavericks star got in such great shape before the upcoming FIFA EuroBasket tournament. One detail, which we covered earlier today, particularly stands out though. The story said that Dončić has not tested his max vertical recently, but it also erroneously cites a 42-inch vertical from an NBA Draft Combine that Dončić never attended. Oh, and he can jump. Lost in the narratives about his weight and conditioning is the fact that, as a 19-year-old at the 2018 NBA Scouting Combine, Luka delivered a 42-inch vertical leap. After a full offseason with Team Luka, he's not sure that number is still the same. 'This year, we didn't measure the jumping yet,' he says. 'But I think it's a little bit higher.' There is a lot to unpack about this one but let's try to take a stab at it. More: Luka Dončić looks great but his supposed vertical is doubtful at best It is at least believe based on how great Dončić looks right now, though it is impossible to prove without actually verifiable testing numbers, that he can jump higher than he could in 2018. What is possible to confirm is that despite what the story from authors Andrew Heffernan and Ebenezer Samuel stated, Dončić never actually recorded a 42-inch vertical at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. In fact, Dončić was not even in the United States at the time of the athletic testing. If someone were to use the terms "Luka Dončić vertical" and "NBA Draft Combine" into a search engine, perhaps Google's AI would send them to an article. This one has Dončić is in the headline but actually discusses Donte DiVincenzo, who did have a 42-inch vertical (via The Athletic): "The fearless nature of DiVincenzo's game was on display for everyone to see in the five-on-five settings. He was one of the best players on the floor in the first scrimmage game, stuffing the stat sheet with 3s, rebounds, blocked shots and steals. His athleticism, motor and frame stood out even among the best players the five-on-five setting had to offer. To match that, he equaled Okogie's 42-inch vertical leap as tops at the combine." Maybe the AI summary confused Dončić with Donte because of the slight similarities of their names. We do not know what happened after that during the actual interview process for the cover story, but if Dončić was asked if he felt he could jump higher now than he could during the pre-draft process, it is easy to imagine possible miscommunications. Dončić may have heard "42 inches" and not known exactly what that meant because he is from Slovenia, where they use the metric system. So to summarize, Dončić never recorded a 42-inch vertical at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine and it is highly doubtful that it is better than that now. If a 6-foot-6 player as skilled as Dončić also had a vertical that exceeded 42 inches, we would certainly notice that on the court because Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point scoring record would be in very sudden danger.
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Luka Dončić looks great but his supposed vertical is doubtful at best
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić has had a remarkable body transformation so far this summer and he looks more than ready for FIFA EuroBasket. During a recent interview, the Slovenian-born All-Star discussed everything that he has done to get in good shape before representing his country in the upcoming basketball tournament. That includes multiple workouts per day as well as "a gluten-free, low-sugar diet" that should help his conditioning, which is something that may have damaged his reputation among certain members of the front office when he played for the Dallas Mavericks. Dončić looks nothing short of fantastic in these photos and his quotes about the continued progress indicate that he should feel proud of everything he is doing to continue that journey toward a healthier lifestyle, which is something that he has acknowledged needed work. However, there is one part of the story that should raise some eyebrows (via Men's Health): Oh, and he can jump. Lost in the narratives about his weight and conditioning is the fact that, as a 19-year-old at the 2018 NBA Scouting Combine, Luka delivered a 42-inch vertical leap. After a full offseason with Team Luka, he's not sure that number is still the same. 'This year, we didn't measure the jumping yet,' he says. 'But I think it's a little bit higher.' The idea that Dončić feels he can jump higher now that he could at 19 years old should excite fans. Depending on how he has spent the offseason, it is also entirely possible. But there is something that we should address: Beginning in 2023, the league now requires all players to measure and test athleticism at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, and excused international players can choose to instead do that in Treviso. Back then, however, Dončić did not actually participate in the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. He was still playing overseas for Real Madid while participating in the EuroLeague Final Four. Two players who did participate in the 2018 NBA Draft Combine were future NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Anfernee Simons and Hamidou Diallo. Neither of them even notched a 42-inch vertical, so it is unlikely that even if Dončić did participate, he would have recorded that number at the peak of his youth and athleticism. For comparison, Donovan Mitchell had a 40.5-inch vertical when he participated in the NBA Draft Combine. Jalen Williams recorded a 39-inch vertical. When you watch those two play, it seems doubtful that Dončić was jumping multiple inches higher than they did. Because there is no recorded information available about how high Dončić could jump in 2018, we can only operate on the assumption based on the context we are given. But what we do have is a database on what Dončić actually does during a basketball game. While it is worth noting that he was dealing with multiple injuries, Dončić had just one dunk all of last season. On that dunk, per his recorded vertical was 23.4 inches. Only two players recorded a vertical on a dunk more than 42 inches in 2024-25: Shaedon Sharpe and Ja Morant. The season before that even when including the postseason, per Basketball-Reference, Dončić had just two dunks. Dončić has never recorded more than than 25 dunks in a season and that was just his rookie campaign. For direct comparison, Golden State's Gary Payton II (who is listed at 6-foot-2 and is several inches shorter) had 37 dunks last season. Otherwise he has never had more than 15 dunks, which is as many as Utah Jazz rookie guard Isaiah Collier (who is listed at 6-foot-3) had last season. Maybe we could see a bouncier version of Dončić in Los Angeles next season, but no, we can't imagine that Dončić suddenly exceeds a 42-inch vertical for the Lakers unless he has a trampoline considering that he has had just three dunks since April 2023. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Luka Dončić looks great but his supposed vertical is doubtful at best
USA Today
28-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Luka Dončić looks great but his supposed vertical is doubtful at best
Our digital cover star, Luka Doncic, ready to take his game (and the Lakers) to new levels of dominance. And this summer shred has been years in the Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Dončić has had a remarkable body transformation so far this summer and he looks more than ready for FIFA EuroBasket. During a recent interview, the Slovenian-born All-Star discussed everything that he has done to get in good shape before representing his country in the upcoming basketball tournament. That includes multiple workouts per day as well as "a gluten-free, low-sugar diet" that should help his conditioning, which is something that may have damaged his reputation among certain members of the front office when he played for the Dallas Mavericks. Dončić looks nothing short of fantastic in these photos and his quotes about the continued progress indicate that he should feel proud of everything he is doing to continue that journey toward a healthier lifestyle, which is something that he has acknowledged needed work. However, there is one part of the story that should raise some eyebrows (via Men's Health): Oh, and he can jump. Lost in the narratives about his weight and conditioning is the fact that, as a 19-year-old at the 2018 NBA Scouting Combine, Luka delivered a 42-inch vertical leap. After a full offseason with Team Luka, he's not sure that number is still the same. 'This year, we didn't measure the jumping yet,' he says. 'But I think it's a little bit higher.' The idea that Dončić feels he can jump higher now that he could at 19 years old should excite fans. Depending on how he has spent the offseason, it is also entirely possible. But there is something that we should address: Beginning in 2023, the league now requires all players to measure and test athleticism at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, and excused international players can choose to instead do that in Treviso. Back then, however, Dončić did not actually participate in the 2018 NBA Draft Combine. He was still playing overseas for Real Madid while participating in the EuroLeague Final Four. Two players who did participate in the 2018 NBA Draft Combine were future NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Anfernee Simons and Hamidou Diallo. Neither of them even notched a 42-inch vertical, so it is unlikely that even if Dončić did participate, he would have recorded that number at the peak of his youth and athleticism. For comparison, Donovan Mitchell had a 40.5-inch vertical when he participated in the NBA Draft Combine. Jalen Williams recorded a 39-inch vertical. When you watch those two play, it seems doubtful that Dončić was jumping multiple inches higher than they did. Because there is no recorded information available about how high Dončić could jump in 2019, we can only operate on the assumption based on the context we are given. But what we do have is a database on what Dončić actually does during a basketball game. While it is worth noting that he was dealing with multiple injuries, Dončić had just one dunk all of last season. On that dunk, per his recorded vertical was 23.4 inches. Only two players recorded a vertical on a dunk more than 42 inches in 2024-25: Shaedon Sharpe and Ja Morant. The season before that even when including the postseason, per Basketball-Reference, Dončić had just two dunks. Dončić has never recorded more than than 25 dunks in a season and that was just his rookie campaign. For direct comparison, Golden State's Gary Payton II (who is listed at 6-foot-2 and is several inches shorter) had 37 dunks last season. Otherwise he has never had more than 15 dunks, which is as many as Utah Jazz rookie guard Isaiah Collier (who is listed at 6-foot-3) had last season. Maybe we could see a bouncier version of Dončić in Los Angeles next season, but no, we can't imagine that Dončić exceeds a 42-inch vertical for the Lakers unless he has a trampoline.
USA Today
27-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why the NFL cannot follow the NBA's draft timing model
The 2025 NBA Draft is now in the books, less than a week after the 2024-25 season finished with the Oklahoma City Thunder holding up the Larry O'Brien Trophy as the league champs. For NFL Draft aficionados, that tiny timeframe between the end of the playoffs and the draft seems insanely brief. The NFL does the draft process quite differently, of course. There were over 10 weeks between the Super Bowl in early February and the NFL Draft in late April in 2025, the customary timeframe for each. Critics of the NFL and its prolonged draft process point to the NBA as a shining example of how much superfluous time goes by in those 10-plus weeks. While that's true, it's not so simple. For starters, the NBA season is far longer than the NFL. Tipoff for the last NBA season began back on October 22nd and ran through June 22nd, exactly eight months later. That's three full months longer than the NFL's time between Week 1 and the Super Bowl. The NBA necessarily has to speed into the draft to get the teams ready for the next season. The players drafted into the NBA this week report to Las Vegas for the summer league in a little over a week, with the exhibition season running from July 10th through the 20th. These aren't unpadded walkthroughs focused on teaching and acclimation like the NFL rookies get in minicamp and OTAs; NBA Summer League games are real basketball, full-speed and full-contact competitions. Basketball can do that because, well, it's basketball. It's an inherently simpler game than football, with five guys on the floor doing the same basic things they've been doing since they were 6-year-olds in rec leagues. The NFL — perhaps unnecessarily — is a different form of football than even the highest-level college game. Divergent rules about defensive contact, multiple formations and personnel groupings for the 11 men on both sides of the ball, and intensely specialized coaching for every individual position group to elevate skills and strategies from the college game require considerable time and training in the NFL. The NBA Draft process eschews the pro day circuit and the postseason all-star exhibitions that serve as de facto scouting functions. There is an NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago, which took place over a week in mid-May this year. You might have missed that as an ardent NFL fan, as it took place during the rookie minicamps or early OTAs a couple of weeks following the NFL Draft. Unless you're glued to NBA TV or Sirius XM NBA Radio, you're unlikely to ever hear it mentioned. By contrast, all the major networks, sports or otherwise, base their operations in Indianapolis in the final week of February for the annual NFL Scouting Combine. In short, the NBA's longer season, abbreviated offseason and comparatively simpler and smaller gameplay afford that league the ability to jump straight from the finals to the draft. The NFL could certainly shave a couple of weeks off between the Super Bowl and the draft, no doubt. But the NFL Draft is its own entity, a profitable offshoot of the league itself that the league happily facilitates and benefits from. That's not going away, nor is the NFL's (perhaps unnecessary) quest to dominate the sports news cycle even in the depths of its offseason.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jase Richardson stays in NBA draft, won't be returning to Michigan State basketball
The remote possibility of Jase Richardson returning to Michigan State basketball is now nil. Richardson will remain in the NBA draft pool after the NCAA's deadline to return for the 2025-26 season passed at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, according to Brett Siegel of Richardson entered the draft in early April. Advertisement In his one season with the Spartans, the 19-year-old combo guard averaged 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per games over 25.3 minutes. Richardson hit a team-leading 41.2% of his 3-point attempts and shot 49.3% overall. That included averaging 16.1 points and 30.5 minutes in starting MSU's final 15 games of its Big Ten regular-season championship season and run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. He shot 42% from 3-point range while grabbing 4.6 rebounds and dishing out 1.7 assists per game over that span as the Spartans finished 30-7. Jase Richardson talks to the media during the 2025 NBA Draft Combine at Marriott Marquis Chicago. RELATED: Couch: A look at next season's Michigan State basketball team and the possibilities for each player At the NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago earlier this month, Richardson measured at just 6-feet-1/2 and weighed 178.4 pounds. Both were significantly lower than the 6-3 and 185 pounds he was listed at on MSU's roster for his freshman season. Advertisement Those diminished measurements have dropped Richardson, the son of former MSU star and NBA player Jason Richardson, in a number of mock drafts out of the lottery — he had been projected as a potential top-10 pick before the combine — and toward the back half of the first round for the June 25 draft. ESPN, Yahoo! Sports and dropped him to No. 16 (Orlando) in recent mock drafts, while Sports Illustrated and have him going at No. 20 (Miami). USA Today's For The Win on Thursday listed Richardson at No. 26 to Brooklyn. Contact Chris Solari: csolari@ Follow him @chrissolari. Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jase Richardson stays in NBA draft, won't return to Michigan State
