Dunking
A dunk happens in a game of basketball when a player slams the ball into the basket from above. Dunking is probably the most popular, famous, and exciting move that a player can perform. Players like Dwyane Wade (pictured above), Amare Stoudemire, and LeBron James have mastered the art of dunking, and dunk on a regular basis.
Physics Behind Dunking
Although it may not seem like it, when a player goes up to dunk the ball, the person's body has to follow the same Laws of Projectile Motion just like any other object. When watching some players dunk the ball it is almost as if they hang in the air and break the laws of physics. Even though it may seem like it, it isn't true. The height of the jump depends on the force the jumper uses when they push off of the ground. The harder the jumper pushes the higher and the longer they will be in the air. To get a hang time of 1.0 seconds the jumper would have to have a vertical leap of 4 feet, which is very high even for professional basketball players.
One of the greatest dunkers ever is Michael Jordan, he had some tips or tricks that he used to maximize his jumps. One of them was that he held onto the ball longer and actually placed it in the hoop, another thing he did was pull his legs up to make it look like he was higher in the air. Both of these things made it look like he was jumping higher and breaking the laws of physics.
One of the greatest dunkers ever is Michael Jordan, he had some tips or tricks that he used to maximize his jumps. One of them was that he held onto the ball longer and actually placed it in the hoop, another thing he did was pull his legs up to make it look like he was higher in the air. Both of these things made it look like he was jumping higher and breaking the laws of physics.
Michael Jordan's "Air Jordan" Dunk
