Jason Kelce‘s latest idea, which surfaced during his New Heights podcast with brother Travis Kelce, surprised even fans who are used to hearing unexpected things from him.
Kelce wants to dunk a basketball, and he is giving himself 30 days to make it happen.
Jason Kelce jokes that his only “girl experience” growing up was Travis Kelce
The way he described the plan, he seems to know the odds are not exactly in his favor. But he also sounded determined, or at the very least amused by the challenge.
“I wanna do a video where I try to dunk over 30 days,” he said early in the episode. “I’m going to try and dunk, and you know I can’t. But I’ve been close and high enough where I’m there. It’s not like it’s that far off… I think I’m going to be able to do it.”
Travis did not hide his disbelief. The Chiefs tight end listened, blinked, shook his head and landed on the kind of blunt honesty that older brothers hear all the time from their younger siblings.
“Time and athleticism caught up to you. To the point where I think you have missed the sweet spot for dunking,” Travis said.
Kelce took the comment in stride. He played 13 seasons at one of the most grueling positions in professional football.
Years of blocking, planting and absorbing hits carried a physical cost. His joints have more mileage now, and the explosiveness needed to reach a 10-foot rim is not something that lingers without maintenance. He knows this. He also knows he never got a dunk during his playing years, even when he was in peak condition.
Dunking is rare for anyone
The general public has long believed dunking is mostly about height or arm length, but strength and vertical power matter just as much.
Studies of adult vertical jump performance have shown that most people land somewhere in the 16-to-20-inch range.
That is not nearly enough for a clean dunk, especially without perfect timing or momentum. These numbers make Kelce‘s task more complicated, given that he played much of his career weighing close to 300 pounds.
