List of tallest players in National Basketball Association history
This is a list of the tallest players in National Basketball Association history. Twenty five of them have been listed at 7 feet, 3 inches or taller. Two are active as of the 2016–17 season; Kristaps Porziņģis of the New York Knicks and Boban Marjanović of the Detroit Pistons.
The tallest to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is 7 feet, 6 inch Yao Ming. In addition to Yao, both Ralph Sampson and Arvydas Sabonis were the only other players to join him in the Hall of Fame.
In the seventh round of the 1981 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors used the 171st pick to select Yasutaka Okayama, a Japanese basketball player who was measured at 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m) and 330 pounds (150 kg).[1][2] Okayama, who attended and played junior varsity basketball at the University of Portland for one and a half years in 1976 as an exchange student, declined to try out for the Warriors and never played in the NBA.[3] He is the tallest person ever drafted and would have been the tallest player in the NBA had he played in the league.[4]
^ | Active NBA player | ||||||
* | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame | ||||||
GP | Games played | Pts | Points | PPG | Points per game | ||
FG% | Field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage | Reb | Rebounds | ||
RPG | Rebounds per game | Blk | Blocks | BPG | Blocks per game |
Height | Weight | Player | Nationality | Teams | GP | Pts | PPG | FG% | FT% | Reb | RPG | Blk | BPG | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) | 315 lb (143 kg) | Mureșan, GheorgheGheorghe Mureșan | ROU | Washington Bullets (1993–1997) New Jersey Nets (1998–2000) |
307 | 3,020 | 9.8 | .573 | .644 | 1,957 | 6.4 | 455 | 1.5 | Generally considered slightly taller than Manute Bol. Bol was officially measured at 7 feet, 6 3/4 inches tall by the Guinness Book of World Records. |
7 ft 6.75 in (2.31 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Bol, ManuteManute Bol | SUD | Washington Bullets (1985–1988, 1994) Golden State Warriors (1988–1990, 1994) Philadelphia 76ers (1990–1993, 1994) Miami Heat (1994) |
624 | 1,599 | 2.6 | .407 | .561 | 2,647 | 4.2 | 2,086 | 3.3 | Played alongside the shortest player in NBA history, Muggsy Bogues, during the 1987–88 season for the Washington Bullets; their difference in height was 28 inches. Only player in NBA history to have more blocked shots than points scored in his career. Weighed just 195 pounds (89 kg) when he entered the league in 1985. |
7 ft 6.5 in (2.30 m) | 294 lb (133 kg) | Vraneš, SlavkoSlavko Vraneš | MNE | Portland Trail Blazers (2004) | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | .000 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | Played in one game, on January 8, 2004 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Played 3 minutes, with one shot attempt from the field (missed) and one personal foul. Vraneš was officially listed as 7'5" while playing in the NBA, and has since grown taller (7'6" or 2.30 m), according to most sources. |
7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | Bradley, ShawnShawn Bradley | USA GER |
Philadelphia 76ers (1993–1995) New Jersey Nets (1995–1997) Dallas Mavericks (1997–2005) |
832 | 6,752 | 8.1 | .457 | .716 | 5,268 | 6.3 | 2,119 | 2.5 | Born to American parents in the former West Germany. |
7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) | 310 lb (141 kg) | Yao Ming, Yao Ming* | CHN | Houston Rockets (2002–2011) | 481 | 9,196 | 19.1 | .525 | .832 | 4,467 | 9.3 | 912 | 1.9 | Tallest player to play in at least one All-Star Game. Also tallest player inducted into the Hall of Fame. |
7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) | 359 lb (163 kg) | Bhullar, SimSim Bhullar | CAN | Sacramento Kings (2015) | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | .500 | — | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 | First NBA player of Indian descent. Played 16 seconds in his debut on April 7, 2015. |
7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) | 250 lb (113 kg) | Nevitt, ChuckChuck Nevitt | USA | Houston Rockets (1982–1983, 1988–1990) Los Angeles Lakers (1984–1985) Detroit Pistons (1985–1988) Chicago Bulls (1991) San Antonio Spurs (1993) |
155 | 251 | 1.6 | .438 | .589 | 239 | 1.5 | 111 | 0.7 | Tallest player to win an NBA Championship. |
7 ft 5 in (2.26 m) | 305 lb (138 kg) | Podkolzin, PavelPavel Podkolzin | RUS | Dallas Mavericks (2004–2006) | 6 | 4 | 0.7 | .000 | .500 | 9 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.1 | |
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 290 lb (132 kg) | Eaton, MarkMark Eaton | USA | Utah Jazz (1982–1993) | 875 | 5,216 | 6.0 | .458 | .649 | 6,939 | 7.9 | 3,064 | 3.5 | He set records for most blocked shots per game in a single season (5.56 bpg in 1984–85) and for an entire career (3.50 bpg) - both marks still stand today. |
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 250 lb (113 kg) | Smits, RikRik Smits | NED | Indiana Pacers (1988–2000) | 867 | 12,871 | 14.8 | .507 | .773 | 5,277 | 6.1 | 1,111 | 1.3 | |
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Sampson, RalphRalph Sampson* | USA | Houston Rockets (1983–1987) Golden State Warriors (1987–1989) Sacramento Kings (1989–1991) Washington Bullets (1991–1992) |
456 | 7,039 | 15.4 | .486 | .661 | 4,011 | 8.8 | 752 | 1.6 | |
7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) | 325 lb (147 kg) | Lauderdale, PriestPriest Lauderdale | USA | Atlanta Hawks (1996–1997) Denver Nuggets (1997–1998) |
74 | 255 | 3.4 | .472 | .554 | 143 | 1.9 | 26 | 0.4 | |
7 ft 3.5 in (2.22 m) | 293 lb (133 kg) | Marjanović, BobanBoban Marjanović^ | SER | San Antonio Spurs (2015–2016) Detroit Pistons (2016–present) |
54 | 297 | 5.5 | .603 | .763 | 194 | 3.6 | 23 | 0.4 | |
7 ft 3.5 in (2.22 m) | 290 lb (132 kg) | Ramos, Peter JohnPeter John Ramos | PUR | Washington Wizards (2004–2005) | 6 | 11 | 1.8 | .500 | .500 | 4 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.2 | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 263 lb (119 kg) | Breuer, RandyRandy Breuer | USA | Milwaukee Bucks (1983–1990) Minnesota Timberwolves (1990–1992) Atlanta Hawks (1992–1993) Sacramento Kings (1993) |
681 | 4,599 | 6.8 | .467 | .628 | 2,986 | 4.4 | 750 | 1.1 | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | Closs, KeithKeith Closs | USA | Los Angeles Clippers (1997–2000) | 130 | 502 | 3.9 | .471 | .606 | 372 | 2.9 | 163 | 1.3 | During his collegiate career, Closs averaged 5.9 blocks per game, which is the NCAA Division I record. |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Halbrook, SwedeSwede Halbrook | USA | Syracuse Nationals (1960–1962) | 143 | 786 | 5.5 | .347 | .591 | 949 | 6.6 | — | — | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 260 lb (118 kg) | Ilgauskas, ŽydrūnasŽydrūnas Ilgauskas | LTU | Cleveland Cavaliers (1997–2010) Miami Heat (2010–2011) |
771 | 10,616 | 13.8 | .475 | .780 | 5,904 | 7.7 | 1,269 | 1.6 | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 250 lb (113 kg) | Radojević, AleksandarAleksandar Radojević | BIH MNE |
Toronto Raptors (1999–2000) Utah Jazz (2004–2005) |
15 | 26 | 1.7 | .308 | .625 | 36 | 2.4 | 3 | 0.2 | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 292 lb (132 kg) | Sabonis, ArvydasArvydas Sabonis* | LTU | Portland Trail Blazers (1995–2001, 2002–2003) | 470 | 5,629 | 12.0 | .500 | .786 | 3,436 | 7.3 | 494 | 1.1 | Sabonis was originally drafted into the NBA in 1986 (Rd. 1, #24 overall), but he was not allowed to play in the NBA for most of his career due to restrictions by the former Soviet Union. |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 305 lb (138 kg) | Seung-Jin, HaHa Seung-Jin | KOR | Portland Trail Blazers (2005–2006) | 46 | 70 | 1.5 | .519 | .500 | 67 | 1.5 | 13 | 0.3 | Only Korean player to play in the NBA. |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 290 lb (132 kg) | Thabeet, HasheemHasheem Thabeet^ | TZA | Memphis Grizzlies (2009–2011) Houston Rockets (2011–2012) Portland Trail Blazers (2012) Oklahoma City Thunder (2012–2014) |
224 | 483 | 2.2 | .567 | .578 | 595 | 2.7 | 184 | 0.8 | Only Tanzanian player to play in the NBA. |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 256 lb (116 kg) | Pleiß, TiborTibor Pleiß | GER | Utah Jazz (2015–2016) | 12 | 24 | 2.0 | .440 | 1.000 | 15 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.2 | |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Tavares, WalterWalter Tavares | CPV | Atlanta Hawks (2015–2016) | 12 | 27 | 2.3 | .600 | .300 | 22 | 1.8 | 6 | 0.5 | Only Cape Verdean player to play in the NBA. |
7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) | 240 lb (109 kg) | Porziņģis, KristapsKristaps Porziņģis^ | LAT | New York Knicks (2015–Present) | 72 | 1,028 | 14.3 | .421 | .838 | 526 | 7.3 | 134 | 1.9 | Was measured at 7'1" during the NBA Draft Combine, but grew two inches before officially playing for the New York Knicks. |
See also
- List of tallest people
- List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history
- NBA records
References
- ↑ Kim, Randy (June 19, 2003). "Draft Oddities". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ↑ "Chibi Not A Chibi". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania: Reading Eagle Company. June 11, 1981. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ↑ "7-foot 7 and a judo expert too". Tri-City Herald. Kennewick, Washington: The McClatchy Company. October 29, 1983. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ↑ "Former NBA player, humanitarian Manute Bol dies at age 47". NY Daily News. Daily News, L.P. June 19, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- "Player Season Finder: For combined seasons; played in the NBA/BAA; in the regular season; from 1946-47 to 2010-11; 7-3 or taller; sorted by descending height". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2011.