Top lists

Top 5 Tallest Basketball Players in NBA

Basketball ("a basket" and "a ball") – a group play, the purpose of which is to toss the ball into the basket (the special rim) of the rival. This amusement, which has now added its worldwide repute, was trumped up in 1891 by an ordinary teacher named James Naismith who worked at the American college of Springfield (Massachusetts). One day he observed that the students were bored to play their usual sports games.

And he came up with an excellent idea of a new game. The clever teacher nailed a basket to the balcony in the sports hall and showed his wards how to throw a ball into it staying away from enemy players. After a while, the habitual fun has transformed into a notable Olympic sport. Now you wouldn’t find a person who knows nothing about this diversion.

At first, basketball was thought to be only the sport of giants. Obviously, a competitor with an exceptional stature will be immediately noticed, and if he also makes great progress in the game, it is quite possible that he will be invited to the National Basketball Association or better known as NBA. The list of the tallest NBA basketball players includes only twenty players. Their height is over 7ft (220 cm).

The basket is located at the 10ft height (3.05m). This element should be installed at a distance 5.91in (0.15m) from the lower edge of the shield. The inner diameter can be about 17.72in (45- 45.7cm). A basketball rim is painted in a bright color, most often it’s orange.Some of the players are forced to struggle to reach the treasured basket. To others, to achieve the desired, it's enough just to raise the hands with the ball higher, and the result, in the form of an additional point for the team, is guaranteed to them.

If you are lucky to be tall, then remember how many times have you heard that you need to go to basketball? Of course, in this sport, height plays one of the main roles but not always. We’ll talk about it in our next post. But here and now you are going to find out who are top 5 tallest NBA players?

5. Chuck Nevitt – 7'4.9''

Chuck Nevitt was 7ft 4.9in (2.26 m) tall

Charles Goodrich 'Chuck' Nevitt is a standout amongst the most acclaimed American basketball players. As a matter of fact, he was recognized by his dumbfounding height. He was born on June 13, 1959, in Cortez, Colorado. When he was a boy he attended the Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia. At the college, he was chosen by the University of North Carolina. During his career, Chuck played for different clubs of the NBA, KBA, and PBA.He was selected in the third round of the 1982 Draft by the Houston Rockets Club under the general 63 number.

Altogether, he had 9 seasons in NBA – Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs. Additionally, Chuck managed to work in Europe for the Italian club "Fulgor Libertas Forli". Despite nine years spent in the National Basketball League, he took part only in 155 games and spent on the field a total of 826 minutes, which is approximately 18 complete games. What’s more, he was the champion the NBA (1985) in the "Los Angeles Lakers".His colleagues were such stars as Magic Johnson, Karim Abdul-Jabar (both Los Angeles Lakers) and Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls).

Season 1988-1989 in Houston was the best in his career when he played 43 games and earned 200 thousand dollars for the season (in all the years in the NBA he earned about 1 million dollars).Chuck Nevitt remains the highest basketball player, who became the NBA champion in the entire history. By the way, he was 7ft 4.9in (2.26 m) tall. Nevitt took part in 16 playoff games: 7 in the Lakers and Pistons and 2 in the Rockets. Currently, he works in the IT industry and lives in Raleigh-Durham, New York.

4.Yao Ming – 7'5.7''

The height of Yao Ming is 7ft 5.7in (2.28 m)

A Chinese basketball player presently resigned. He was born on September 12, 1980, in Shanghai. Yao’s parents were fully engaged in sports. In fact, they were professional basketball players in the past. Moreover, his mom and dad have also a really impressive height – 6ft 2.8in (1.90 m) and 6ft 7.5in (2.02 m). Yao commenced playing basketball as a teenager as part of the "Shanghai Sharks". We will not diminish the sporting achievements of this celebrity, but there have been both ups and downs in his career.

The giant made his debut in 2000 at the Olympic Games in Sydney.The year of 2003 was noted by his draft in the National Basketball Association to the Houston team. In 2006, he became the undisputed leader of the Chinese team at the World Championships, although the country reached only 1/16 of the final. But then, due to a series of injuries, he completely missed the 2009-2010 season and was unable to take part in the World Championship, which was held in Turkey in 2010.

Quite frankly, the tallest player in the championship became popular in many ways due to the memorable appearance. Twice he was chosen as the standard-bearer of the Chinese national team at the opening of the Olympics: in 2004 (Athens) and in 2008 (Beijing). Yao said it was his fondest dream. The height of the Chinese basketball star is 7ft 5.7in (2.28 m). For the people of China, where the population has long exceeded the billion mark, this giant is a genuine cause for pride and a symbol of the country's growing influence in the world.

But what the real fame is, this star learned on the day when the phrase "Yao Ming Face" was spread all over the Internet. It's easy to see that Yao has an effulgent smile and unthinkable facial expressions. This feature took an unexpected turn after the press conference in 2009. The photo with an extremely amusing grimace immediately appeared in the newspapers. And then one thing led to another. Eventually, his picture turned into a hand-drawn meme.

Today, Yao Ming is one of the most roaring and recognizable (of course!) sportsmen in China.He no longer plays basketball professionally but leads reports and comments on matches. You may find a film about his career in the NBA as well as an autobiographical book. A few years ago, Yao bought out the "Shanghai Sharks" club, where he began his career at an early age.

The Chinese giant is married to Ye Li who was also an athlete in the past. She played in the women's basketball team of the PRC. The couple already has a daughter and curious observers did not miss the chance to calculate what the growth of the children of the Chinese giant will be.It is possible without superfluous exaggeration to say that Yao Ming became a genuine cause for pride in China. And his meme – the epicenter of all kinds of comics. The "Chinese Gulliver" is not at all upset. He finds it really great that his face is known all over the world!

3. Shawn Bradley – 7'6.1''

Shawn Bradley is 7ft 6.1in (2.29 m) tall

Shawn Paul Bradley was born on March 22, 1972, in Landstuhl, Germany. He is a former American and German basketball player, namely the center. Throughout his career, Shawn was in three NBA teams: "Philadelphia Seventy Sixers", "New Jersey Nets" and "Dallas Mavericks". With the height of 7ft 6.1in (2.29 m), he is on the list of the tallest basketball players in the history of the NBA. Bradley is also one of the best in block shots in the National Basketball Association, and in the 2000-2001 season, he took first place in the league, having spent 228 locks.

Shawn’s career ended in 2006. He and his wife Anette have six children: four daughters Cheney, Chira, Chelsea, Charity and two sons Chance and Chas. At present, they live in the city of Murray, Utah. Bradley likes baseball, water skiing, and horse riding. One of his hobbies is country music. Shawn belongs to the Mormon Church. At the age of 19, he was engaged in missionary work for two years in the Church of Jesus Christ of the Last Days in New South Wales, Australia.

Also, the basketball star is an active participant in numerous charity events. In the 2000-2001 season, he gave $ 25 for each block-shot to the specialized medical institution Bryan's House, which treated children with HIV and AIDS. He is the official representative of the Children's Miracle Network. Bradley also participated in the "Basketball without Borders" program, along with other NBA players – Dikembe Mutombo, Malik Rose, and Desagana Diop, in which they tried to draw attention to the situation of children in Africa.

Together with his wife, Shawn took part in the Rising Star Outreach program, which was aimed at treating leprosy in India. Bradley played in the 1996 film Space Jam, among a number of other NBA stars – Magsy Bogza, Larry Johnson, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing. In 2011, along with other sports celebs, Chad Lewis and Lavalle Edwards starred in a video dedicated to Jimmer Fredette.

From a very early age, he was very tall, because of that he had not only problems but also there were unique prospects. When Shawn was little, he was constantly teased. It was unfair, but he could not help it. Fortunately, from early childhood, the champion learned a very important lesson: his life means something. This conviction helped him to overcome regular life difficulties and troubles.

2. Manute Bol – 7'6.9''

Manute himself grew up to 7ft 6.9in (2.31 m).

Manute was born in the family of the leader of the Dinka tribe on October 16, 1962, South Sudan. His name can roughly be translated as a 'special gift', a 'special blessing'. The outstanding height in the Bol family was a common occurrence – his mother was 6ft 10in tall (about 2.08 m), and the father and sister were 6ft 8in (2.03m). Manute’s great-grandfather was rumored to be a supergiant, his height was 7ft and 10in (2.38 m). Manute himself grew up to 7ft 6.9in (2.31 m).

As a child, Bol courted the family herds. Repeatedly in his interviews, he talked about how he killed a lion that attacked his cows with a spear. Manute began playing basketball in 1978. He was a member of Sudan teams 'Wau' and 'Khartoum' for several years. Once, a coach from the University of Fairleigh Dickinson saw his game. He managed to persuade Bol to try his hand in the US.

Thus, in the fifth round of the NBA draft of 1983, Manute was selected by representatives of the team 'San Diego Clippers'. In the future, however, it turned out that Bol does not fit the rules of the league and the choice was canceled. A little later, the coach of Cleveland University Kevin Mackey invited him to his team. There Manute spent several months studying English.In the future, however, Bol's career went up the hill. Long arms and a good sports stature made him simply an unbeatable defender. However, not only Manute’s sports results were remembered. He became famous as a public figure.

The sportsman actively engaged in various charitable projects. Most of the money that he earned for a decade of the sports career, Manute spent on the restoration of his war-torn homeland – Sudan. Bol regularly visited Sudan refugee camps. Soon after, Manute organized a charity project 'Ring True Foundation', to further raise funds for the needs of his homeland. The athlete himself donated to the fund most of his savings – about three and a half million dollars.

After another political conflict in the Sudan, Bol returned to the States in 2002, again as a religious refugee. This time he settled in West Hartford, Connecticut. In July 2004, Manute was badly injured in a car crash. After recovering from the accident, the athlete moved to Olaf, Kansas. On June 19, 2010, Manute died of acute kidney failure and complications associated with Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

1. Gheorghe Mureşan – 7'7''

He is 7ft 7in (2.31m) tall with the arm span of about 2.40 m.

Gheorghe Mureşan was born in Romania on February 14, 1971. He is 7ft 7in (2.31m) tall with the arm span of about 2.40 m. His parents were of normal height. Gheorghe started to play basketball at the age of 14. Several years he spent at the University of Cluj in Romania. In 1992, at 22, Mureşan got into the French team of Pau-Ortez and played there one season, by and large, making 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and most doing block shots. In 1993, he was in the NBA under the 30th draft number in the team of Washington Bullets (Puli), where he spent his greatest years.

In the first season, Gheorghe basically sat on the bench with little knowledge of English. In any case, he became the favorite of the fans. The season 1995-1996 became his best when Mureşan spent 76 games and on average played 14.5 points for the game, making 2.26 block shots and 9.6 rebounds. In the next season, he scored an average of 10 points per game. The next 2 seasons the newest star missed due to injuries.

There were rumors that he was injured during the filming of "My Giant" with Billy Kristal in the summer of 1997. Although his illness (ankle injury and clamped nerves in the spinal cord) was undoubtedly due to the fact that his body could not stand the very long and tense season of the NBA. Mureşan tried to return to the National Basketball League in 1999 when he made a deal with New Jersey Nets. He played in 52 games and scored an average of 3.5 points in the game and making 2.3 rebounds. It was clear that Gheorghe would no longer play as before. He was very slow. Then he had an operation on his knee.

Mureşan was already 28 years old and it was his last season in the NBA. In 2000, Gheorghe returned to France to Pau-Ortez, where he spent an incomplete season, gaining an average of 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds. In November 2002, after treatment and operation on the pituitary gland, he returned to basketball and played several games for the national team. In the first game against Austria, he scored 24 points and made 13 rebounds. In the spring of 2003, Gheorghe Mureşan announced the end of his sports career and left for the United States, where he founded a basketball school, which he has been running up to this day.

 

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Popular

To Top