The 48-inch Michael Jordan vertical is everywhere. There is one pretty big problem with it: Jordan said in an interview that he had never had his vertical measured. So where did that exact number come from? I have not found a test behind it. Looking at his highest dunks, I would put him around 43 to 44 inches. That is still an insane jump.
What a real 48 would look like
Jordan was about six-foot-six in shoes. For the top of his head to reach the ten-foot rim, he would need to jump roughly 42 inches. If he really jumped 48, his head would be about six inches above the rim. Go back through the contest footage and the game clips. I cannot find a clear jump that puts his head that high.
Could there have been an unfilmed jump where he got higher? Sure. Could a bad camera angle hide a couple of inches? Also possible. Neither of those possibilities turns the 48 into a measurement.
The contest reverses are the best clues I found
On a few of Jordan's reverse dunks, he looks like he has to duck his head as he comes by the rim. To me, that puts the top of his head roughly one or two inches above it. Add that to the 42 inches needed for rim level, and you get the 43 to 44 range. It is an estimate from what we can see, not a number from a jump test.
And this is not me saying Jordan was anything less than a freak athlete. Watch the distance he covers and what he does with the ball in the air. Very few players could finish those dunks. He does not need an invented 48-inch statistic to make the point.
He came up again in a later video
When I looked at Blake Griffin and Kobe Bryant, I went back to Jordan's contest jumps and landed in the same range. That is a second look at the footage, not a second measurement.
The other two players in that clip have their own breakdowns: Blake Griffin and Kobe Bryant. The full NBA table includes the rest of the estimates. If somebody finds a verified Jordan test or a clearer highest jump, I would want to see it. For now, 48 is a claim without the measurement it needs.