If you’ve spent the past few weeks watching USA Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles flying through the air, you’ve probably had a very silly thought cross your mind:
Can Simone Biles dunk?
Nearly a foot shorter than Spud Webb, Biles’ high-flying acts in her floor routine have basketball fans rethinking what’s possible. Actually, scratch that. Biles has some of the best basketball players in the world rethinking what’s possible.
MORE: 13 awe-inspiring photos of Simone Biles during her Olympic all-around gold medal performance
So let’s do the math. An NBA rim sits at 10 feet high. So let’s be generous and say you need to get to 10’6 to successfully dunk. At 4’8, Biles would need to get about six feet in the air to have a chance. Can Biles reach that height?
She can — and then some. At her peak in the air, Biles flies 12 feet off the ground. And remember, these mats aren’t built to aid anyone’s jump, rather the shock absorption is meant to help the gymnasts with their landings.
Would she be able to reach that height with a basketball? Here’s a better question: Would she even need to if she could just catch a lob and throw it down?
According to Kevin Durant, that’s really no question at all.
I really believe Goat Biles can catch a lob and finish. #bounce
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 1, 2024
And now, for an artist’s rendering of what that would look like.
https://t.co/WRUE0Djvkm pic.twitter.com/0g4kuANfY6
— nba paint (@nba_paint) August 1, 2024
Yep, completely checks out. Biles could probably dunk, at least she has plenty of people convinced she can, anyways.
Update: I asked a D1 gymnast (through a few people) an the answer is "probably". The floor gives cushion and not really bounce, so she thinks Simone Biles can dunk… which is absolutely ridiculous. https://t.co/lWjgzEaLVJ
— Matt Foreman (@ForemanTaxLaw) August 1, 2024
Can Simone Biles dunk a basketball? Like tiny hands so it’s gotta be a lob, but if we let her flippy-flippy-flip into it, can’t be out of the question right??
— Collin Sherwin (@CollinSherwin) August 1, 2024
Before the Horn, can Simone Biles dunk? Kevin Durant thinks so, but what does Spud Webb think? pic.twitter.com/ZDUJDs0Bjo
— Around the Horn (@AroundtheHorn) August 1, 2024
I literally said this last week. @Simone_Biles can definitely dunk a basketball. She jumps 12 feet in the air on her floor exercise. The rim is only 10 feet in the air. #SimoneBiles https://t.co/okCebXUcgK pic.twitter.com/DaVzAaMVUn
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) August 1, 2024
Until Biles proves there’s something she can’t do, we just have to assume it’s possible. How else do you explain this?
