Can Cristiano Ronaldo jump higher than an NBA Basketball Player?

Most soccer players at the age of 35 are either retired or well past their prime. Cristiano Ronaldo seems to defy this logic and still looks like he’s in his 20s. Every time Ronaldo goes up for a header it appears that he’s jumping higher than any soccer player he is up against.

But does Cristiano Ronaldo jump higher than the average basketball player? Ronaldo recorded a 30 inch vertical (76.2 cm) in 2014 at the age of 29 years old. The average player in the NBA has a vertical jump of 28 inches (71.12). Ronaldo scores above the NBA average with some of his best-recorded jumps in games with his head above the crossbar when attempting a header. 

In this article we are going to compare the vertical leaps of basketball and soccer players, we will also take a look at the difference between standing and max vertical jumps and what I believe Ronaldo’s true prime vertical jump was.

Standing Vertical Jump Versus Max Vertical Jump

Vertical jumps are measured in inches and while many people talk about their vertical leap being a certain number, the true measure of one’s explosive power is in the standing vertical jump.

Many athletes will say I have a 40-inch vertical leap, while this might be true it’s most likely they are speaking of their max vertical jump which involves them running and taking off with one or two feet.

Achieving a 40 inch vertical with no approach is a very difficult thing to do, gifted athletes with natural jumping ability will still spend years training to achieve this number. 

The two jumps, standing, and running will show a major difference in inches when comparing one to the other. Standing will always be a lower number than your running.

For obvious reasons, you use your running approach to gain momentum to jump as high as possible. While your standing vertical leap requires you to stand there without moving your feet and jump.

For example, my prime running vertical jump or max jump was around 37 to 39 inches. While my standing vertical jump was only 30 inches. This is quite common for many athletes.

The difference between my standing and running jumps was 7 to 9 inches. The momentum of the run-up propels me much higher and I am able to utilize my power more effectively.

Both standing and running vertical jumps are used in the NBA combine and are an excellent way to measure explosive power in an athlete.

Average Vertical Leap of an NBA Basketball Player

The average vertical leap for an NBA player is 28 inches or 71 centimeters. As you can see most players in the NBA do not have a massive vertical leap like most think.

In fact, NBA players are not the highest jumpers, Football players and volleyball players jump higher. Football players average in the low 30s while pro volleyball players average in the high 30s.

There are some athletes that are standouts and with new training research, we are seeing athletes jumping higher than ever.

The highest standing vertical jump ever recorded at the 2021 NBA combine is by Keon Johnson at 41.5 inches beating D.J. Stevens who had the record jumping 40 inches in 2013.

D.J. Stevens also had the record for max running vertical jump at 46 inches which was also beaten by Keon Johnson with a record-breaking 48 inches (121 cm).

Average Vertical Leap of a Pro Soccer Player

The average soccer player’s vertical leap is around 20 to 24 inches. Ronaldo has an above-average vertical leap when compared to his competition.

When Ronaldo jumps on the field it looks like he’s just hanging there mid-air. This is incredible as he is in his mid-30s and doesn’t appear to be slowing down. 

There are positive benefits to being able to jump high in soccer, the trade-off for having a high vertical leap is explosive legs.

Explosive legs transfer into running faster, kicking harder, and cutting quicker, all of which are important skills that soccer (football) players need in order to excel.

What was Cristiano Ronaldo’s highest Vertical Leap? 

There’s an iconic play of Ronaldo playing for Juventus where he was recorded heading a basketball 2.56 meters high. So just how high did he jump?

If we measure his height and subtract it from 2.56 meters we can see how many inches or cm he jumped on this one particular header.

2.56 meters minus his height which is 1.87 meters (6 feet 1 inch) this equals to 0.69 meters which is equivalent to 27 inches or 69 centimeters.

Now, this doesn’t mean that is his max vertical jump. If we factor in age with the vertical leap, we know that he doesn’t jump as high as he once use to. But he still jumps the NBA average if not higher.

Think of Vince Carter who spent 20 years playing in the NBA, when he first entered the league dunked on everyone and everything. Carter had a 40-44 inch max vertical leap.

As he got older and reached his 30s he started to slow down and you can see he wasn’t jumping as high. The same is happening with Ronaldo.

While I do believe he can jump much higher, as he was recorded measuring a show of a one-step vertical leap of 31 inches. His running vertical in his prime I believe was easily 35 inches running minimum.

 I believe this because Ronaldo is always training, and while you are watching him on the field it appears he jumping really high.

A 24-inch vertical jump will not look as if your jumping high but your 30+ inch jump will definitely be noticeable.

 

How often do basketball players jump during a game?

For a basketball player a high vertical leap is often sought after, this is because being able to jump high not only helps you dunk a basketball but will help your overall game tremendously.

Having a high vertical leap transition into explosive power on the court that you can tap into. Usually, if you can jump high you’re able to run fast also.

Jumping equates to having the explosive power that you can tap into at any time to grab a rebound, block a shot and jump over your opponents on a layup or dunk attempt.

In basketball, jumping occurs in many of the skills that are utilized on the court.

Such skills that we use jumping for are the following:

• Rebounding
• Shooting
• Layups
• Dunks
• Blocking a shot
• Catching/Intercepting a pass

It is said that the average basketball player will jump 60 times in one game. How high and forceful they jump isn’t always the same as in every movement skill above.

Shooting a basketball does not require you to jump as high as you can. Attempting a layup doesn’t always involve jumping your highest every single time.

Rebounding is more about positioning than it is jumping your highest. In fact, if you attempt to jump your highest every time you jump you will find you get tired quite quickly.

This is because jumping involves a lot of energy and force and like sprinting you are using your fast-twitch muscle fibers. Those fibres tend to tire out quite quickly.

How often do soccer players jump during a game?

In soccer, the vertical leap isn’t as sought after as it is in basketball. Soccer players do jump often in a soccer game but positioning themselves relative to the soccer ball is much more important.

Soccer players use their jumping ability in the following scenarios:

• Heading the ball into the net.
• Passing the ball mid-air.
• Jumping to control the ball.
• Goalie trying to save the ball.

For goalkeepers, it is an excellent skill to have, to be able to jump high especially when defending against corner kicks and crosses. Jumping higher than the offense is key to saving the ball and diverting it the opposite way from the goal.

When comparing the basketball player to the soccer player, soccer players jump around 15 times a game. About a quarter of the amount basketball players do.

 

Do Goalies Jump high?

The goalkeeper position does require a certain level of jumping like other positions in soccer. This is important for a few reasons. The first is for a goalie to jump to save balls that may go over them. 

The second is to catch balls that are crossed and would otherwise be headed on corners etc.

Because the vertical jump is an expression of lower body power it will serve a goalkeeper very well in increasing their vertical leap so they can react and use their power quickly to save shots.

Being able to use the legs and to push off will help them get into position to save the ball. It also helps them run towards the ball when a long pass is attempted and the goalkeeper can get to the ball before the player does.

The vertical jump isn’t just needed to jump high but to be explosive in the moments on the field when it matters most.

What is Ronaldo’s Hangtime?

Let’s take a look at how hang time is calculated…If you want to calculate your own hangtime follow these steps.

1. Calculate your vertical in meters.
2. Multiply by 2
3. Divide by 9.8m/s
4. Square root the current number
5. Finally, multiply by 2

Hangtime is the time that an athlete leaves the ground when he jumps and remains suspended in the air until he lands again. In other words, the length of time an athlete hangs in the air.

The average humans hang time is somewhere around 0.53 seconds.  Michael Jordan was reported to have a 48-inch max vertical leap and reported a 0.92 to 1 second of hang time in testing.

No human can sustain a hangtime of more than 1 second, this is because of the gravitational force of Earth pulling you down. Hangtime is the same everywhere on Earth, it pulls you back down after a jump at of 9.81 m/s2.

So what is Ronaldo’s hangtime? 

Using the above formula with Ronaldo’s standing vertical jump of 30 inches;

30 inches in meters is 0.762

0.762 x 2 = 1.524

1.524/9.8=0.1555102040816327

Square root – 0.1555102040816327 = 0.310204081632654

0.39434782119 x 2= 0.78869564239

Ronaldo has a 0.78-second hang time. This explains why it looks like he is hanging mid-air for a really long time. This wasn’t even his prime max vertical.

What is Ronaldo’s prime vertical jump hangtime? 

So if we take 35 inches and we calculate the above formula this gives Ronaldo 0.85 seconds in the air.