Is it "Insane" That Ashton Jeanty (5-foot-8, 211-pounds) Can Dunk a Basketball? + Deep Dive Into NFL Players Dunking
I've noticed that I'm very prone to being swayed by headlines. If something is presented to me in a way that tells me I should be impressed, my dumb brain will eat it right up. As soon as I read stupid ass Dov Kleiman's tweet, I thought to myself. "Wow! 5-foot-8! 211-pounds! One of the greatest running backs in the history of college football with legs like a rhinoceros and can squat 600-pounds! And he can dunk?! What CAN'T Ashton Jeanty do?!"
I mean, in a vacuum, a 5-foot-8, 211-pound man dunking is a phenomenal feat. You know who else is 5-foot-8, and roughly 211-pounds? Noted celebrity asshole James Corden after Ozempic.
Emma McIntyre. Getty Images.If I saw a video of James Corden after Ozempic dunking over brunch waiter who forgot to pick the kiwis out of his side of fruit, now that would be insane. But upon further research into NFL player dunking basketballs, I'm afraid Ashton Jeanty's dunk leaves a bit to be desired.
For one, I think there's a reason Ashton threw the ball up like that. It wasn't to make the dunk harder. It appears he has to meet at the ball at the hoop in order to get it over the rim. It still counts. It's a clean dunk. But can he take off with ball in hand and dunk a basketball off two feet? Or even one foot? I'm not so sure. A quick YouTube search for football players dunking basketballs will show you some far more impressive, far more surprising NFL dunkers.
Note: To be honest, I'm only using the Ashton Jeanty dunk as a jumping off point to blog about NFL players dunking. After I watched Ashton Jeanty's dunk, I spent an hour going down a YouTube rabbit hole and I didn't want that time to go completely to waste.
First off, did you know that Foot Locker used to hold a non-basketball player professional athlete slam dunk contest? In 1992, it featured the likes of Michael Irvin, Chris Carter, Deion Sanders, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Delino Deshield, etc. Dick Vitale was there broadcasting. It was a whole to-do. The winner that year was Olympic Triple Jump Gold Medalist, Mike Conley Sr. (Mike Conley Jr.'s dad).
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The full Foot Locker Slam Fest contest is on YouTube. That wasn't the only year either. They did it from 1988-1996. In the last year, Roy Jones Jr. was one of the dunkers. He missed all of his attempts.
They weren't the most impressive feats of dunking I've ever seen, but it's more entertaining than what NBA All-Star weekend gives us nowadays. I'd rather watch something like this than the Mac McClung charity dunking invitational every year.
But even comparing those guys to Ashton Jeanty is unfair. The shortest person in that contest was Tim Brown, who's a six-foot wide receiver. Wide receivers are supposed to be able to jump like that. Honestly, from the looks of it, pretty much all NFL skill position players who are at least 6-foot seem to be dunking with relative ease.
Even Johnny Football can throw it down consistently.
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But still… they're all a bit taller than Ashton Jeanty. Even Johnny Manziel says he's six feet tall. Dunking is a lot like sex. A couple inches can be the difference between throwing down a hammer, and barely getting the ball in the hoop. Yeah you technically "dunked". People will be nice about it and tell you it was great. Except you're the only who's satisfied with it. But with some work on your timing, angles, stamina, launch point, etc. You can maximize the tools God gave you and become a surprisingly serviceable dunker. Sometimes it's the little guys who really knock your socks off. That one's free Nicky Smokes.
Anyways… 5-foot-8 NFL players who can dunk… Unfortunately for Ashton Jeanty, I found exactly that. If Jeanty's dunk qualifies as getting the job done, this unassuming 5-foot-8 white boy brought the rim to thunderous orgasm.
Cole Beasley. Certified dunker. I'm afraid Ashton doesn't hold a candle to Cole. But again, Cole Beasley is a wide receiver. Of course a receiver as short as Cole Beasley is able to get up. How else could he have made it to the NFL? He's also a good 30 pounds lighter than Jeanty. He doesn't have nearly as much weight to jump with. I need someone more directly proportional to Ashton Jeanty to fully understand how impressive his dunk was. Somebody who is Ashton Jeanty's exact height. Someone who is, say, within 10 pounds of him. Someone who Ashton Jeanty has been compared to incessantly since Week 2 of the 2024 season
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Aw damn. Bested by Barry Sanders once again. That's a two-foot, 180-reverse double clutch slam dunk from college football's all-time single season rushing leader. On what appears to be his first attempt (the screen is cut off it's hard to tell). In classic Barry Sanders fashion, it looks like he's barely even trying.
I feel bad picking apart Ashton Jeanty's accomplishment like this. I don't mean to imply that his dunk wasn't impressive. There aren't many running backs his size with dunking tape out there. Saquon Barkley has 4-inches on Jeanty, and I don't see dunking anywhere (although based on this story about him almost dunking in high school, I'm willing to be he could get one down).
So I think I answered my question. It just about makes perfect sense that freak athlete Ashton Jeanty is able to dunk a basketball in the manner her did. Technically speaking, I suppose it qualifies as insane "insane". Ashton Jeanty is an insane physical specimen. But lots of football players can dunk. When you're one of the greatest athletes in the world, dunking kinda comes with the territory.
Ashton Jeanty didn't necessarily bring the house down, but there's no shame in that. Some girls don't like big dunks anyways. And if you're reading this, Ashton… whatever you do… don't look up videos of Travis Hunter playing basketball.