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Tallest of the tall
At 7 feet 7 inches, Gheorghe Mureșan (pictured) and Manute Bol are the tallest players in NBA history.
List of the tallest NBA players
Most NBA players are tall. Just how tall? The average height of a player is approximately 6 feet 7 inches (2 meters). By comparison, the average American man stands about 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall. Height is a major advantage in basketball, helping players rebound, block, and shoot. So, who’s the tallest player in NBA history? The title goes to Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol, both of whom are 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 meters). Where do other players rank? Find out in the list below.
| rank | player | height* | NBA team(s)** |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Per NBA.com, except for Manute Bol; the NBA site gives a height of 7 feet 6 inches, but most sources use 7 feet 7 inches. | |||
| **Team name is at the time the player was a member. | |||
| 1 (tie) | Gheorghe Mureșan | 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 meters) | Washington Bullets; New Jersey Nets |
| 1 (tie) | Manute Bol | 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 meters) | Washington Bullets; Golden State Warriors; Philadelphia 76ers; Miami Heat |
| 3 (tie) | Shawn Bradley | 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 meters) | Philadelphia 76ers; New Jersey Nets; Dallas Mavericks |
| 3 (tie) | Tacko Fall | 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 meters) | Boston Celtics; Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 3 (tie) | Yao Ming | 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 meters) | Houston Rockets |
| 6 (tie) | Sim Bhullar | 7 feet 5 inches (2.26 meters) | Sacramento Kings |
| 6 (tie) | Chuck Nevitt | 7 feet 5 inches (2.26 meters) | Houston Rockets; Los Angeles Lakers; Detroit Pistons; Chicago Bulls; San Antonio Spurs |
| 6 (tie) | Pavel Podkolzin | 7 feet 5 inches (2.26 meters) | Dallas Mavericks |
| 6 (tie) | Slavko Vraneš | 7 feet 5 inches (2.26 meters) | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 10 (tie) | Mark Eaton | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | Utah Jazz |
| 10 (tie) | Priest Lauderdale | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | Atlanta Hawks; Denver Nuggets |
| 10 (tie) | Boban Marjanović | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | San Antonio Spurs; Detroit Pistons; Los Angeles Clippers; Philadelphia 76ers; Dallas Mavericks; Houston Rockets |
| 10 (tie) | Ralph Sampson | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | Houston Rockets; Golden State Warriors; Sacramento Kings; Washington Bullets |
| 10 (tie) | Rik Smits | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | Indiana Pacers |
| 10 (tie) | Victor Wembanyama | 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 meters) | San Antonio Spurs |
| 16 (tie) | Bol Bol | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Denver Nuggets; Orlando Magic; Phoenix Suns |
| 16 (tie) | Randy Breuer | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Milwaukee Bucks; Minnesota Timberwolves; Atlanta Hawks; Sacramento Kings |
| 16 (tie) | Keith Closs | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 16 (tie) | Zach Edey | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 16 (tie) | Ha Seung-Jin | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 16 (tie) | Harvey (“Swede”) Halbrook | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Syracuse Nationals |
| 16 (tie) | Zydrunas Ilgauskas | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Cleveland Cavaliers; Miami Heat |
| 16 (tie) | Tibor Pleiss | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Utah Jazz |
| 16 (tie) | Peter John Ramos | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Washington Wizards |
| 16 (tie) | Aleksandar Radojević | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Milwaukee Bucks; Toronto Raptors; Utah Jazz |
| 16 (tie) | Arvydas Sabonis | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 16 (tie) | Edy Tavares | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Atlanta Hawks; Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 16 (tie) | Hasheem Thabeet | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Memphis Grizzlies; Houston Rockets; Portland Trail Blazers; Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 16 (tie) | Rocco Zikarsky | 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 meters) | Minnesota Timberwolves |
Heights of other notable NBA players
| player | height* | NBA team(s)** |
|---|---|---|
| *Per NBA.com. | ||
| **Team name is at the time the player was a member. | ||
| Muggsy Bogues | 5 feet 3 inches (1.6 meters) | Washington Bullets; Charlotte Hornets; Golden State Warriors; Toronto Raptors |
| Spud Webb | 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters) | Atlanta Hawks; Sacramento Kings; Minnesota Timberwolves; Orlando Magic |
| Stephen Curry | 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) | Golden State Warriors |
| Kobe Bryant | 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Michael Jordan | 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) | Chicago Bulls; Washington Wizards |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 meters) | Los Angeles Clippers; Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Luka Dončić | 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) | Dallas Mavericks; Los Angeles Lakers |
| LeBron James | 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) | Cleveland Cavaliers; Miami Heat; Los Angeles Lakers |
| Larry Bird | 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) | Boston Celtics |
| Magic Johnson | 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Bill Russell | 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 meters) | Boston Celtics |
| Nikola Jokić | 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 meters) | Denver Nuggets |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 6 feet 11 inches (2.11 meters) | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 meters) | Orlando Magic; Los Angeles Lakers; Miami Heat; Phoenix Suns; Cleveland Cavaliers; Boston Celtics |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 meters) | Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors; Philadelphia 76ers; Los Angeles Lakers |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 meters) | Milwaukee Bucks; Los Angeles Lakers |
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