Johni Broome's underwhelming vertical jump at the NBA Draft Combine went viral after language app Duolingo brutally mocked it with a meme: "Learn Chinese and try Super Duolingo today!"
Johni Broome might not be a household name to casual basketball fans, but he made headlines on Wednesday at the NBA Draft Combine—though not for the best reason.
During the athletic testing, the Auburn big man recorded a standing vertical leap of just 24.5 inches—a disappointing mark by NBA standards.
To put that in perspective, projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg posted a 35.5-inch standing vertical, while Bahamian prospect VJ Edgecombe reached a best of 38.5 inches.
Broome's underwhelming jump quickly became the subject of online mockery, with memes flooding social media.
But arguably the harshest reaction came from an unlikely source: the language learning app Duolingo. The brand's social media account quote-tweeted a clip of Broome's vertical and wrote, "Learn Chinese and try Super Duolingo today!"
The joke references a viral meme from 2022 involving a fake quote attributed to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, supposedly telling a struggling player, "Get ready to learn Chinese, buddy"—a sarcastic way of suggesting their future may lie overseas.
Despite the social media roasting, Broome remains a legitimate NBA prospect.
The 6-foot-10 big is projected as a second-round pick and ranked 37th in ESPN's latest post-lottery mock draft for 2025. At 22, he's already dealt with a torn ACL in his career, which may have affected his athleticism.
Still, Broome was one of college basketball's top performers last season. He averaged 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game, leading Auburn to a 32–6 record and a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The NBA Draft Combine runs through Sunday in Chicago.
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