Dillan McCarthy

Dillan McCarthy is an 18-year-old professional dunker from New York with one of the most remarkable training stories in the sport. Standing under 5-foot-10, he tested a 49-inch vertical on the very first Vertec-style measurement of his life, and he did it while jumping at full effort seven days a week, a workload that would sideline most pros but has left him essentially injury-free.

A volleyball player since sixth grade, Dillan carries two gifts from the sport straight into his dunking: elite reaction time and a deeply ingrained left-foot-last approach. He first fell for pro dunking watching Jordan Kilganon at Dunk League in 2016, back when he was a 4-foot-10 kid who could barely finish on a lowered hoop and got picked on for his height. He kept jumping anyway.

His path was nearly ended in eighth grade when he split his kneecap in half and spent three months in a full leg cast, measuring a 2-inch vertical when he finally returned. The rebuild started at his school desk, where he did seated calf raises every day until he wore through four pairs of shoes. From a shattered kneecap and a 2-inch vertical to 49 inches in about four years, Dillan McCarthy has become living proof of what relentless, unconventional work can produce.