Americans haven't been to the moon in a few decades, but Memphis' D.J. Stephens has astronaut hops. Every leap he makes is like Neil Armstrong’s first moonwalk. At Memphis, he became a local cult legend for his disdain for gravity. However, I doubt anyone knew his hops were this serious. During a workout with the Brooklyn Nets, Stephens recorded the highest vertical leap in NBA history.
Here at Brooklyn Nets workout.My favorite @ddotjay30 is here. Measured with a 46" max vert here. Highest EVER measured by NBA
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) May 22, 2013
According to his Twitter feed, Stephens also has some flight issues getting out of New York, but that’s just laziness on his part.
Aside from his hops, Stephens isn’t a very highly-touted prospect. He averaged just 7.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a senior, and has no discernible offensive attributes besides dunking and a developing ability to knock down corner threes. He's extremely raw offensively, but he averaged 2.3 blocks per game in college and showed some potential on the defensive end of the floor. If he's going to make it tn the league, it'll have to be as a shutdown defender or an extra body in practice. He’s ready for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, but he’s got some work to do on his game and probably should take the James White route to an NBA bench by developing his abilities overseas.
