Standing reach calculator

What standing reach means for dunking

Your standing reach is the height of your fingertips when you stand flat-footed and reach one arm straight up. On a 10 ft rim, the gap between that height and the rim is the jump you need just to touch it. A dunk needs a few inches more, because your palm and the ball must finish above the rim. Every inch of extra reach is an inch less to find in the air, which is why reach decides the answer more directly than height does.

How to estimate standing reach from height

The calculator above multiplies your height by 1.31. That ratio is a common rule of thumb, not a law of anatomy. For a 6′0″ player it gives about 7′ 10.3″, and for a 5′8″ player about 7′ 5.1″. Use it when you have no way to measure, and treat the result as a starting point you can replace later.

How to measure standing reach at home

1. Stand with your side to a wall, feet flat and shoulders square.
2. Raise the arm nearest the wall straight up and stretch as high as you can without lifting your heels.
3. Mark the wall at the tip of your longest finger, or have a helper do it.
4. Measure from the floor to the mark and repeat once to check.

Take your shoes off or measure in the shoes you will jump in, but use the same choice for your jump test.

Standing reach, wingspan and ape index

Wingspan is the distance between your fingertips with both arms stretched out sideways. Ape index is wingspan minus height, so a positive number means arms longer than height. Players with a positive ape index tend to reach higher than the height rule predicts, which lowers the vertical they need. Wingspan is a useful clue about reach, but it is not a substitute for measuring reach itself.

Standing reach, max reach and jump reach

These terms describe three different heights. Standing reach is flat-footed. Jump reach is the highest point you touch when you jump, and your vertical is the difference between the two. The dunk calculator's estimated max reach is standing reach plus your current vertical, which it compares with the rim plus the dunk margin. If you only know your jump reach, use the vertical jump calculator to turn it into a vertical.

Next steps

With your reach in hand, see the vertical needed to dunk by height and reach, or enter it straight into the calculator. A 6′0″ player on the rule-of-thumb reach needs about 31.7 in for a basic dunk, and measuring can move that figure noticeably.