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The NBA is a big man’s league and in the history of the game, we have seen so many giants take the basketball court.
The tallest player to ever play in the NBA was 7-7 Gheorghe Muresan of Romania. Yasutaka Okayama is the tallest player to be drafted in the NBA at 7-8 but he never played a single NBA game. At 7-6, Yao Ming is the tallest player to be named to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Ralph Sampson and Arvydas Sabonis are the only other players 7-3 or taller to enter the Hall of Fame.
Up until 2019, a total of 26 players listed 7-3 or taller have played in the NBA. Currently, three of them are in the league and they lead our list of the tallest players in the NBA during the 2019-20 season:
Tacko Fall 7′ 5″ (2.26 m)
Tacko Fall is the tallest player in the NBA right now at 7-5 tall. The 24-year old from Dakar, Senegal moved to the United States when he was 16. Because of his height, he was one of the most scouted high school players in the U.S. Fall attended the University of Central Florida where he continued to improve. In 2017, he was named as the Defensive Player of the Year for the American Atlantic Conference. He helped the Knights make it to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, leading the team to its first-ever win in program history.
Fall was undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft but he was able to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Boston Celtics. After a good showing at the Summer League, the Celtics officially signed Fall. Because of his size, he is the most popular player in Boston. Fall has a shoe size of 22 and his wingspan is 8ft and 4 inches or 2.54 m with a standing reach of 3.10 m.
Boban Marjanovic 7′ 4″ (2.24 m)
Boban Marjanovic was the NBA’s tallest player for a while before Tacko Fall arrived. The 31-year old from Serbia stands 7-4 tall and is a massive 290-pound center. A 6-10 Marjanovic started playing professionally at the age of 14 for the Serbian team Hemofarm. He built a name for himself by winning three consecutive Serbian Super League MVP awards while leading his team to the title in 2015.
He was undrafted in 2010 but found his way to the NBA via the San Antonio Spurs who signed him in 2015. He joined the Pistons a year later and then found himself playing for the Clippers and Sixers during the 2018-19 season. Marjanovic moved to the Dallas Mavericks this season and he is one of the most popular players in the league because of his fun character. He wears size 20 shoes and has a wingspan of 2.4 m.
Kristaps Porzingis 7′ 3″ (2.21 m)
The Latvian Unicorn is the third tallest player in the NBA today. Kristaps Porzingis stands 7-3 tall and plays both power forward and center positions. Among the Top 5 tallest players in the NBA today, Porzingis is the most accomplished player. He was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 4th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft and was booed by some fans because they didn’t know him. But he proved the entire city wrong with a solid rookie season that allowed him to finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Karl Anthony Towns.
Porzingis suffered an ACL injury and he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He made a successful return during the 2019-20 season as he averaged 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game. He joined forces with another European star in Luka Doncic to put the Mavericks back in playoff contention this season. His profile has been likened to German legend Dirk Nowitzki as Porzingis is comfortable playing inside and outside plus he has a very good three-point shot.
Luke Kornet 7′ 2″ (2.18 m)
Luke Kornet averaged 8.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.64 blocks per game in 24 minutes of action during his four seasons at Vanderbilt University. Listed at 7-2, Kornet is Vanderbilt’s all-time leader in blocked shots and is also the NCAA leader for three-point baskets made by a seven-footer. Despite earning All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive honors during his senior season, Kornet was undrafted in the 2017 Draft.
He signed with the Knicks for the 2017 Summer League before earning a spot on the team. He made his NBA debut on February 8, 2018, and he registered 10 points and 11 rebounds, making him the only the second player in Knicks history to post a double-double during his NBA debut. His four blocks during his first NBA game also made him the only player in the history of the NBA to block four shots in his NBA debut. Kornet left New York and signed a two-year deal with the Bulls in 2019.
Bol Bol 7′ 2″ (2.18 m)
Bol Bol is 7-2 yet he wasn’t the tallest member of his family. Bol’s late father Manute was 7-6 and he was once the tallest player in the NBA. Bol followed in his dad’s footsteps. He went to the United States to play basketball. By the age of 14, he was already 6-10 and started receiving interest from College teams. He joined Oregon during the 2018-19 season and was considered one of the best prospects in the NBA Draft. However, a foot injury ended his freshman year and he declared for the NBA draft.
Because of his injury, he slipped to 44th overall in the draft. Bol was considered a lottery pick before his injury but the Nuggets were happy to trade for him after he was picked by the Heat in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. Last November 20, 2019, he made his first appearance in the G League, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while blocking two shots. He is expected to make his NBA debut next season.
