Who Has Been The Tallest NBA Player?

Who has been the tallest NBA player? This is a question that many basketball fans have asked over the years. While there is no definitive answer, we can take a look at some of the tallest players in NBA history and see who comes out on top.

Introduction

In basketball, size can be a major advantage. The taller a player is, the easier it is for them to block shots, rebound and score points. Though there have been some extremely tall players throughout NBA history, only a few have managed to stand out above the rest. Here are the tallest players in NBA history.

History of the Tallest Players in the NBA

In the National Basketball Association (NBA), a player must be at least six feet tall to participate. This has been the case since the league’s inception in 1946. As the average height of Americans has increased over the years, so has the average height of NBA players. Today, the average height of an NBA player is just over six feet seven inches. In this article, we will take a look at the tallest players in NBA history.

George Mikan

George Mikan, who played for the Minneapolis Lakers, was the first truly dominant big man in the NBA. At 6’10” and with a 240-pound frame, he was an unstoppable force in the post. He changed the game of basketball with his ability to score seemingly at will, and his physical dominance led to rule changes that widened the lane and outlawed defensive goaltending.

Mikan retired from the NBA in 1954, but not before setting several records that still stand today. He is still the tallest player in NBA history to average 20 points per game or more over his career, and his 2,395 career rebounds are the most ever by a player 6’10” or taller. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959, and his number 99 jersey was retired by the Lakers in 1993.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain, who played from 1959 to 1973, is the tallest player in NBA history at 7 feet 1 inch. He is also one of the most prolific scorers in league history, averaging 30.1 points per game during his career.

Chamberlain was born in 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began playing basketball at a young age and excelled in high school. He then went on to play for the University of Kansas Jayhawks, leading the team to an NCAA Championship in 1957.

Chamberlain was drafted by the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors in 1959. He quickly became one of the league’s best players, averaging 37.6 points per game during his rookie season. He was named MVP of the NBA in 1960 and led the Warriors to an NBA Championship in 1975.

Chamberlain retired from the NBA in 1973 after 14 seasons. He died in 1999 at the age of 63.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two more as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player. He also was named to the 1975 NBA All-Star Game MVP and the NCAA Regional Finals Most Outstanding Player. In 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have called him the greatest basketball player of all time.

At 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), he set numerous notable records during his career, including being the all-time leading scorer in both the regular season (38,387 points) and in the playoffs (5,762). He is currently second on both lists behind Karl Malone. His frame gave him unusual strength which helped him establish himself close to the basket where he used his arms to forcefully block shots without fouling; many believe this led to his opponents’ reluctance to drive into his area on the court. He has been ranked three times by ESPN as one of their Top 25 Players of All Time (#2 in 1997, #16 in 2007[1], #6 in 2016).[2][3] In 1999 ESPN ranked him 30th among its “50 Greatest Athletes Of The Century”.[4] In February 2010, ESPN announced that they would celebrate Kareem’s 50th anniversary with an hour documentary entitled “Kareem at 50” that would air during their progress toward their milestone coverage of 75 years of basketball.[5] In December 2010 ESPN named Kareem “The Greatest Center Of All Time.”[6]

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal, nicknamed Shaq, is a retired professional basketball player who is considered one of the greatest players in NBA history. He is also one of the tallest and heaviest players ever to play in the NBA, standing at 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 m) tall and weighing 325 pounds (147 kg).

O’Neal began his career with the Orlando Magic, where he quickly became one of the best players in the league. He helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995, where they lost to the Houston Rockets. After four years with the Magic, O’Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.

In 2004, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, where he won another championship in 2006. He then played for several other teams before finally retiring from the NBA in 2011. During his 19-year career, O’Neal was a 15-time All-Star, a three-time NBA Finals MVP, and a four-time NBA champion. He was also named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected to start for the Western Conference in eight NBA All-Star Games, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). He is credited as having popularized basketball in China.

Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and soon became their star player. In 2002, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. After negotiating a contract with then-Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson, he joined the team in December 2002. Due to injuries that repeatedly interrupted his season, Yao played only 49 games over his first three seasons but averaged 19 points on 62% shooting and nearly 10 rebounds per game over that span. His fourth season saw him play in 77 games and average 25 points on nearly 56% shooting to go along with 9.4 rebounds per game; he also led Houston to their first playoff series victory since 1997.

Over his eight-year career with Houston, Yao averaged 19 points on 52% shooting and 9 rebounds per game while ingraining himself as an iconic figure among Rockets fans; however, consecutive foot and ankle injuries forced him to miss 250 games between 2005 and 2011, including all of 2009–10. In July 2011 Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball due to further injuries which had caused him to miss most of 2010–11. In eight seasons with the Rockets Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points (9,247) and second among franchise leaders in total rebounds (4,494). Though during his playing career Yao guarded players taller than himself more often than not because of coach Jeff Van Gundy’s reliance on “positionless” basketball during Yao’s early years with Houston (especially due to an injury-prone supporting cast), he really excelled offensively against smaller players using his range and footwork; many pundits have said that had he been able to stay healthy he might have eventually developed into one of only a few all-around centers ever seen in NBA history who possessed enough size matched with agility typically seen only from much smaller players along with an outside shooting touch from beyond 20 feet that was virtually unrivaled by any other center during his prime years while also being an excellent post player and arguably one of if not the best passing big men ever seen during his era as well as being an above average free-throw shooter for a man of his size as well as being an excellent offensive rebounder who averaged nearly 2 offensive rebounds per game for his career despite often sitting out entire fourth quarters during blowouts throughout much of his initial four seasons due largely to foul trouble or van Gundy’s decision to rest Yao during crucial late-season games due to Houston often being one of if not THE deepest teams in terms of overall talent especially during Yao’s prime years from 2004–2009 when they had multiple future All-Stars coming off their bench such as Bonzi Wells, Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Shane Battier among others which resulted in most if not all of their starters including Yao sitting out entire fourth quarters during many regular season games throughout much of those years which likely deprived Yao of numerous opportunities to pad his statistical totals even further throughout his career)

The Tallest Active NBA Players

At 7’3″,Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz is the tallest player in the NBA. He’s followed closely by fellow centers Boban Marjanovic and Kristaps Porzingis, who are both 7’2″. In recent years, the average height of an NBA player has increased, as the league has become increasingly populated by international players.

Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis is a Latvian professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) tall, he plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Knicks with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2016.

Boban Marjanovic

At 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m), Boban Marjanovic is the tallest player in the NBA. He is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also holds the distinction of being the tallest player in NBA history, just ahead of Manute Bol who was 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m).

Tacko Fall

Standing at 7’5″, Tacko Fall is tied with Manute Bol as the tallest player in NBA history. He was born on December 10, 1995, in Dakar, Senegal, and came to the United States to play college basketball for UCF. He went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft but was signed by the Boston Celtics to a two-way contract. Fall made his NBA debut on October 30, 2019, against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Conclusion

The tallest player in NBA history is Manute Bol, who was 7 feet, 7 inches tall. He played for several teams during his 10-year career, including the Golden State Warriors, Washington Bullets and Philadelphia 76ers. Bol is originally from Sudan and is now retired from basketball.