If the point of the game is to put the ball through a net that’s 10 feet in the air, it helps a lot if you can just reach up and drop it in there. It’s also remarkably helpful if you can just reach up and block your opponent from doing something similar.
And yet height is still no basketball panacea. Take a look at the shortest NBA players and you find what is, arguably, a more impressive crew. But let’s take a look at some of the tallest NBA players of yesterday and today and examine how their height has played out in their careers.
Tallest NBA Players in History
Gheorghe Mureșan (7′ 7″ or 231 cm)
Gheorghe Mureșan had a remarkable but relatively short NBA career, playing 5 seasons from 1993-2000. He was a dominant center known for his shot-blocking ability and efficient scoring around the basket.
Off the court Mureșan has made a mark as well. In the video for the Eminem classic, “My Name Is”, he cameos as a ventriloquist. He also co-starred in one of the multiple Billy Crystal basketball dramedies in the 90’s, My Giant. And he’s done some stuff that’s genuinely good for humanity as well like co-authoring youth fitness books and founding a youth basketball academy.
Mureșan’s best season came in 1995-1996 when he averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game, earning him the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Mureșan’s height was not hereditary. His height is due to a pituitary disorder called acromegaly.
Manute Bol (7′ 7″ or 231 cm)
The Sudanese born Manute Bol was recruited out of Sudan in large part for his incredible height. In contrast to Mureșan, Bol’s height is exceedingly hereditary. His father was 6’8″ and his mother even taller at 6′ 10″. His great-grandfather was 7’10” tall.
His ethnic group, the Dinka, are known as an exceptionally tall population. This is probably a big part of the reason college scouts showed up in his neighborhood and dragged him back to Ohio in the first place.
Certainly at least partly due to his extreme height, Manute is the only NBA player to retire with more blocks than points scored. Let that sink in…
In 1987 with the Bullets, Manute spent a season playing with the shortest NBA player of all time, Mugsy Bogues. A single season with the shortest and tallest players in the league made for a fascinating viewing experience.
Manute’s son Bol Bol currently plays for the Phoenix Suns. Bol Bol is significantly shorter than his father at 7′ 2″, but displays a remarkable shooting touch for a player of his height. Unfortunately, while his highlights are fun as hell to watch, he’s struggled to prove he can play consistently at NBA standards.
Yao Ming (7′ 6″ or 229 cm)
Yao Ming was a dominant force during his NBA tenure, easily among the greatest Asian basketball players of all time. As the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, Yao quickly became a superstar.
He possessed a refined offensive game, smooth footwork, and a soft shooting touch. Unfortunately, his career was plagued by foot and ankle injuries that led to his early retirement in 2011. Despite the setbacks, Yao Ming remains an iconic figure in NBA history and has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
In a part of the world where the average height is 5′ 6″ Yao is quite the exception. Some conspiracists suggest that Yao was the product of CCP meddling. Yao’s father was 6’7″ tall and his mother was 6’3″ tall. At minimum, it seems likely that the union of Yao’s parents was looked upon favorably.
Shawn Bradley (7′ 6″ or 229 cm)
Shawn’s got the best nickname on the list. The “Stormin’ Mormon”, Bradley grew up on a farm in Utah and was raised under the LDS. He had a barn burner of a freshman year at BYU and then he did in fact do the mission thing. For two years, he roamed around Australia, presumably with the black tie and the bicycle and stuff.
Like a lot of the big fells, Bradley was a skilled shot-blockerduring his NBA career. Starting out with the 76ers, he had a stopover with the Nets before spending most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
No titles, but Bradley did lead the league in blocks in the 1996-1997 season. He’s also one of the players who lost their talent in Space Jam.
Slavko Vraneš (7′ 6″ or 229 cm)
Slavko’s career was pretty short, but I say it still counts. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2003. He was waived before he saw floor time. However, later in 2003, he got picked up on a 10-day with the Portland Trail Blazers.
On January 8th, 2004 he played 3 minutes and logged nothing but a single foul in his one and only NBA game. He did go on to have an international career, but nothing too remarkable.
Tacko Fall (7′ 6″ or 226 cm)
The Senegalese born Tacko Fall was a sight to behold there for a bit. He played 2 seasons with the Celtics and one with the Cavs. With his ridiculous reach, he could dunk pretty smoothly without leaving the ground.
While Fall was popular for his impressive height and pleasant personality, his numbers in the NBA were unimpressive. Granted, he wasn’t getting a lot of minutes.
He’s been playing in China lately. He made the Bucks 2023 Summer League team. He did alright, but is unlikely to pop up in the NBA this season. No matter, he’s crushing it in the CBA and apparently he’s a tough dude and very intelligent. Not to mention he came from some meager means. He’ll do alright.
Chuck Nevitt (7′ 5″ or 226 cm)
Chuck Nevitt had a journeyman career in the league, playing for various teams during the 1980s and early 1990s. While he provided valuable depth and shot-blocking off the bench, he was never a high-impact player and had limited playing time. Still, he managed 9 seasons from 1982-1994 and he did log some playoff minutes with the 1985 championship Lakers.
Sim Bhullar (7′ 5″ or 226 cm)
Sim Bhullar picked up a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings April of 2015. This made Bhular the first player of Indian descent to hit the floor in an NBA game.
He would only play 3 games, logging just a minute per game. He’s bounced around some Chinese teams but currently plays with the Tainan TSG GhostHawks
Pavel Podkolzin (7′ 5″ or 226 cm)
The Russian born Pavel Podkolzin was selected at pick #21 by the Utah Jazz in the 2004 NBA Draft and was quickly traded to Dallas. He only played in 6 games across two years with the Mavericks.
Victor Wembanyama (7′ 5″ or 226 cm)
First pick of the 2023 NBA draft and Britney Spears assault victim, it’s Wemby. I wonder if he likes that name, or if he even just tolerates it. Does he use it at Starbucks is what I’m getting at.
Anyway, he’s tall. He should be entering the 2023-2024 season as the tallest player in the league. And he doesn’t really seem to be done growing.
Current Tallest NBA Players
Victor Wembanyama (7′ 5″ or 226 cm)
What more is there to say? We just covered Wemby in the tallest players in history category above.
But it’s cool, I’ll keep going…
There’s confusion actually, about Wembanyama’s true height. Is Wemby 7′ 4″ or 7’6″? Historically, the 7′ 5″ crew isn’t exactly a good looking bunch. And, like KD, it seems like Wembanyama would prefer not to get shoehorned into the paint if at all possible.
So while he seems to be growing, he would also seem to have some incentive to undercut his true height. He may just have too big a bag to camp out under the basket. Consider his unique ability to block 3’s at the perimeter.
Ever since a 2019 rule change has required teams to verify player heights with team doctors, it’s been a little more difficult to fudge the numbers. But with a player who seems to still be growing, there may still be a little confusion.
Boban Marjanović (7′ 4″ or 224 cm)
Boban Marjanović has proven himself a valuable backup center, but his road to the NBA was not without potholes. The 7 foot 4 inch center is a native of Serbia (quite a wellspring of NBA talent these days). Debuting in the Adriatic League before 20 years old, he would play professionally for several years before being eligible for the NBA draft.
But in 2010, Boban went undrafted. He was kicked back to Eastern Europe for another half a decade. After logging 3 consecutive MVP seasons with the Basketball League of Serbia, he seems to have piqued some NBA curiosity.
Marjanović picked up a one-year $1.2 Million contract with the Spurs in 2015 and has been has bounced around as a reliable bench center ever since. Despite limited playing time, he’s been a fan favorite and remained productive in his role. Marjonović is currently with the Rockets.
He’s also kinda entertaining in those State Farm commercials.
Kristaps Porziņģis (7′ 3″ or 221 cm)
Kristaps went 4th overall to the Knicks in 2015 after a stit in the Spanish ACB. Initially seen as something of a gamble, he’s certainly proven his value in the NBA, averaging around 20 points per game across his career.
The Latvian born (not a lot of Americans in the extreme height category) Porziņģis was the central figure in one of the biggest trades of the 2023 off-season.
This was a 3-team deal. The Celtics picked up Kristaps and some picks. But they gave away a core element of their lineup and a defensive powerhouse in Marcus Smart. There’s still mixed sentiment on this one. We’ll see how it plays out.
Moses Brown (7′ 2″ or 218 cm)
Out of UCLA, Brown went undrafted in 2019 but quickly picked up a 2-way with the Trail Blazers and ended up playing 9 games in the 2019-2020 season, granted he played very little.
He started 32 games with the Thunder and averaged 8.6 points per game in the following season. Brown’s field performance on an NBA court is kinda impressive, averaging 57%. But he can’t hit a 3 and his free-throw rate is abysmal.
Brown may or may not be in the league. He continues to bounce around on 2-ways and 10-days. We’ll see if he gets picked up for the 2023-2024 season.
Luke Kornet (7′ 2″ or 218 cm)
Kornet is the second Celtic in the top ten tallest players in the league. As long as Moises Brown is unsigned, Kornet is the tallest active American-born NBA player for the 2023-2024 season.
Another undrafted big fellah, Kornet slid in for a 2-way contract with the Knicks after a 2017 Summer League showing. He would play his first NBA game in 2018 against the Raptors and score a standard contract with the Knicks a couple of months later. Kornet is currently guaranteed through the 2023-2024 season with the Celtics.
Alex Len (7′ 2″ or 218 cm)
The Ukrainian-born Alex Len became the highest-selected Ukrainian in the NBA draft with his 5th overall selection by the Suns in 2013.
Len will remain with the Sacramento Kings through the 2023-2024 season, having played an important role for the Kings as a backup Center in their 2023 playoff bid.
Bol Bol (7′ 2″ or 218 cm)
The beloved Bol Bol, son to the magnificent defensive center of the 80’s, Manute Bol.
Bol was drafted by the Nuggets where he was a fan-favorite for his show-stopping hilights and outlandish stature (even though he apparently trails his dad by a full 5 inches). But he never saw rotation minutes. His 2022-2023 season was looking to be the breakout that a lot of Bol fans were waiting for.
Alas, following a season where he appeared in a career-high 70 games, starting in 33 of those games and averaging 9.1 points per game and 1.2 blocks, he was waived.
The Suns have picked him up for the 2023-2024 season. We’ll see how he does alongside Booker and KD. The funny thing there is that Orlando appears to have waived him because they didn’t have time to allow him to develop for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Phoenix picked him up as part of their guns-ablazing bid to win a title today.
Rudy Gobert (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Awww, Rudy. The French defensive juggernaut that wasn’t. Gobert is one of the most accomplished players on this list. He led the league in blocks in 2017. He led the league in rebounds in 2022. And some continue to have faith.
But if the Timberwolves can’t capitalize on Gobert this year, the volatile big man is going to look rather entirely overpaid yet again. And the Jazz, who gave him up in 2022 will look rather like geniuses for having turned him into Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, et all.
Jakob Pöltl (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Pöltl… Pöltl… Am I not Pöltl-ie enough?
That’s a reference to the 2002 Dana Carvey vehicle, The Master of Disguise in which Carvey disguises himself as a turtle. The youth may have missed this one. The age-ed have likely forgotten.
And like Carvey’s turtle, Poetl has come out of his shell. The Austrian had a strong run with the Spurs from 2018 to 2023, effectively doubling his production under Pop. He was traded to the Raptors in 2023 and appears to be holding stride.
Brook Lopez (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
While I personally appreciate his slightly younger twin Robin as a Cavs favorite, Brook is the taller and more NBA-dominant Lopez. Brook has been the Bucks preferred Center for the past 5 seasons, playing an essential role in their 2021 title run and getting nosed-out by Jaren Jackson Jr. for DPOY in 2023.
Meyers Leonard (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Another 7-foot Buck, Leonard went 11th overall to the Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft. He had a pretty reasonable rookie season before taking a little dip and slipping to a backup backup role.
But he pulled out of it and scored some impressive contracts, settling in as a $10 million/ year backup center with the Blazers. He even started logging some impressive shooting numbers.
And then he got traded to Miami and ran into some injury issues. And then he used “an anti-semitic slur” during a gaming stream. Miami dropped him to OKC who then dropped him off the map.
The Bucks took a chance on him for 2022 and it ended up working out alright. We’ll see if he comes back for 2023.
Domantas Sabonis (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Domantas is the big man for the up and coming Kings. His passing is compared to other European big men, like Jokić (maybe a stretch) and his own father, Arvydas Sabonis, NBA legend and one of the great European players of all time.
Chet Holmgren (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Coming through for his first big season with the Thunder after losing his rookie year to injury. Chet is the type of unicorn that turns a lot of heads. Plenty of concern about his slight build, but he’s a very promising prospect.
Ibou Badji (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Dereck Lively II (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
James Huff (7′ 1″ or 216 cm)
Takeaways
There is a clear relationship between your height and your effectiveness on a basketball court. But we can see her that height doesn’t always guarantee you an NBA contract. The tallest players in NBA history are sometimes successful, but none of the widely accepted GOAT’s even show up on this list.
Of course every player that makes the league is skilled, but the taller players may have less incentive to develop true ball handling, shooting touch and IQ. And in a lot of cases they struggle against their own bodies to perfect those skills.
Still, height does mean an advantage. Take a look at the NBA greats throughout history and they’re all significantly above 6 foot. The majority are closer to 7 feet tall. But 7′ doesn’t even make the cut for the top 10 current players.