Wolf Gnards

Killing chickens and running from angry villagers is one thing, dunking a basketball is something entirely different. Is Teen Wolf correct? Can a werewolf slam dunk a basketball? The answer is simple: yes… and, maybe, no. If Michael Jordan was a werewolf it really goes without saying that he could dunk a basketball. Some sort of super monster dunk could even be expected. But could a baby werewolf dunk? Or a midget werwolf dunk? Or a shewolf dunk? Werewolves come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and the curse of the beast is different for all of us. I spent way too much of young life trying to get bit by a wolf just so I could make the basketball team, would it even have been worth it?

Michael J. Fox, in fact, could have some problems. After all, Fox is only 5’4”. Given that height, with regular body proportions to that height, Fox should have a standing upward reach of 79”. I’m assuming that Fox cannot palm a basketball both because hand size is not effected in his transformation and his claws could puncture a basketball. This means he needs at least a 47” vertical leap to jam on a 10 ft basket. This is the minimum it would take, and about an inch higher than Spud Webb could at his peak condition. So, would a lycanthropy boost be enough to propel Michael J. Fox to the basket?

Most would imagine that a Frankenstein is the best monster on the basketball court. And while it’s great in the post, it’s also slow, lumbering, and afraid of fire. However, a werewolf is perfectly suited for b-ball. While I’ve never seen a wolf dribble, shoot, or play defense, the athletic increase alone should count for something. Fox’s character only dunked and blocked shots, which freakish athleticism would have greatly aided.

Here’s what Yellow Stone Park has to say on the matter of werewolf leaping:

The 1 acre acclimation pens were constructed of heavy gauge wire fence material 10 feet tall, round or oblong in shape with a two-foot wide inverted top. The shape was used to prevent any of the wolves from climbing out over the top of the enclosure. We found that wolves held in square cornered enclosures have the potential to gain momentum while circling the enclosure to reach the top. Wolves are also able to jump so high, that they often are able to jump and grab the chain link fence with their teeth and then pull themselves over.

A wolf can almost dunk on its own! So, a human/wolf hybrid should have no problem whatsoever. And younger wolves (or teen wolves), are much better jumpers than adult wolves.

One thing to note is Michael J. Fox is only slightly bigger than an average sized wolf. So, his wolf powers are slightly increased from a regular wolf. Still this is more than enough for Fox to dunk. If all things stay proportional, a teen wolf should be able to jump up to 13 feet, or a 77” vertical. This is calculated for a four legged spring. Two legs could be half as powerful making only a 39″ jump, not enough for the Foxy one to dunk. But considering that most of the leaping power is in the back legs probably only a third of leaping strength would be lost. That’s a 51″ leap and more than enough to slam dunk.

Now whether or not a werewolf can box, that’s a wolf of a different color.