Have you seen Gerald Green's 2005 summer league dunk where he - just like Vince Carter at the 2000 Olympics - jumped over a 7 footer for the dunk?

Maybe you have seen the 21-year old Boston Celtic in the 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest that he won. And, you're right - he is the reigning (2007) NBA Slam Dunk Champion!

In this contest, Green first made a two-handed slam on an alley-oop pass off the side of the backboard from teammate Paul Pierce. Then he jumped over fellow finalist Nate Robinson while wearing the No. 7 Celtics jersey of 1991 dunk champion Dee Brown - and shielding his eyes in the crook of his elbow in an homage to Brown's memorable no-look dunk.

"I knew they were going to be tough, because those guys had the creativity and the dunking style," Green said about the famous judges Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Julius Erving.

"I tried to come out with something they never did before, and hopefully they could give me a score." - Gerald Green

At the end of the contest, G-Money effortlessly leaped over a 3-foot table for a windmill jam.

"That boy has some serious hops," Nate Robinson said after that dunk, eyes wide. "Kid can fly."

Actually, Gerald Green has the highest vertical leap in the NBA by now - 48 inches!

The 6'8''/ 200 lbs. shooting guard jumps so high, he has to watch out not hitting the rim with his head! On one occasion in high school, Green went higher than expected and cut his head on the rim.

"If you're trying to glide, you want to get your footwork right,'' said Green. ‘‘If you don't get your footwork right, you won't accelerate as far or glide as far or get as high as you need to get. Then, at the height of the dunk, you want to reach your peak. That's where you want to get the ball where it needs to be. Sometimes I don't reach my peak. I dunk and then I seem to go a little higher then I fall down. It has happened before. I'm just trying to put the ball in a certain area." - Gerald Green

By now, you may think:

So what? It's great for him that he can jump that high,

but how can I increase my vertical?

Well, besides the excellent, but common exercises like jump rope, calf raises and squats, there are some very effective exercises only few people know about:

Thrust ups:

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, and lock your knees. Then jump up just by using your calves, only bending at the ankles. As soon as your land, go right back up. This completes one thrust ups. You can use your arms if you want.

Burnouts:

Stand in the same position as thrust ups, and go up as high as your can on your toes. Then jump up only using the sides of your thighs and your toes - you must stay as high on your toes as possible throughout the exercise. You can use your arms too.
Rest 1-2 minutes between sets.

Laundry Jumps:

Begin by using a cone, paper bag, or some other break-away object at and elevated level 8 to 24 inches high. Jump laterally over object. Strive to jump as high and far as you can back and forth over object.

Power Skip

Try to bring leg up to chest when skipping and use an exaggerated skipping motion.
Both arms swing upwards when leg is brought up. Alternate legs.

For more exercises and crucial things to know about vertical jump (f.e. why often what you "don't" do is more important then what you "do" do) please take a look at this page I strongly recommend:

www.howtodunk.org

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