25 Tallest NBA Players of All Time, Ranked

Being tall doesn't mean you're going to make it in the NBA, as the tallest players in league history prove.

You don’t have to be really tall to play in the NBA. But it sure doesn’t hurt.

The average height of a player in the NBA’s first season, in 1947, was around 6-foot-3. Over the ensuing eight decades, that grew to almost 6-foot-6 in 2022. That’s compared to the average American male, who is about 5-foot-10 today.

Sometimes, though, the NBA does things above average. Sometimes players come along that are so tall their mere height alone eclipses whatever they do on the court. These are the tallest players in NBA history, with none shorter than 7-foot-3.

25. Tibor Pleiss

Marco Garcia / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Germany

Career: 1 seasons (2015-16)

Teams: Utah Jazz

Bottom line: Tibor Pleiss is a good example for European players who get taken in the NBA draft and want to cool their heels playing overseas before making the leap. Better get over here sooner than later.

Pleiss was drafted in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets and his rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks, who sold his rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who traded his rights to the Utah Jazz.

Pleiss finally landed in the NBA in 2015, where he played one NBA season for the Jazz, appearing in just 12 games.

24. Walter Tavares

John Minchillo / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Cape Verde

Career: 2 seasons (2015-17)

Teams: Atlanta Hawks (2015-16), Cleveland Cavaliers (2017)

Bottom line: Walter Tavares was a star for Spanish Club Gran Canaria before the Atlanta Hawks took a flier on him with a second-round pick. He lasted just two seasons in the NBA — mostly in the G-League — and played just 13 regular-season games in that stretch.

Tavares returned to Spain following his time in the NBA and has played for Real Madrid since 2017.

23. Aleksandar Radojevic

Aleksandar Radojevic is a very tall NBA player

PizarraSloan / Twitter

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Career: 2 seasons (1999-2000, 2004-05)

Teams: Toronto Raptors (1999-2000), Utah Jazz (2004-05)

Bottom line: Aleksandar Radojevic’s college recruitment ended with one of the stranger twists in NCAA history. Originally committed to Ohio State, Radojevic was declared ineligible to play in the NCAA after it was revealed he received payments from Ohio State head coach Jim O’Brien, who lost his job over cash sent to Radojevic.

O’Brien contended he’d given the money to Radojevic’s Bosnian family for humanitarian reasons, sued Ohio State for wrongful termination and won. The school was forced to pay him $2.4 million.

Radojevic played collegiately for Barton Community College, then 15 games in the NBA, followed by 12 seasons overseas.

22. Ha Seung-Jin

TRILLBLAZIN / Twitter

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: South Korea

Career: 2 seasons (2004-06)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers

Bottom line: Ha Seung-Jin remains the only South Korean to play in the NBA.

Ha lasted two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers then played another 13 seasons of professional basketball overseas, ending his career with South Korean club Jeonju KCC Egis in 2019.

21. Keith Closs

Jill Connelly / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: United States

Career: 3 seasons (1997-2000)

Teams: Los Angeles Clippers

Bottom line: Keith Closs still holds the NCAA record for blocks after averaging 5.87 per game in two years at Central Connecticut. Closs went undrafted, but he caught on fairly quickly with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he was a backup for three seasons before he drank himself out of the league.

Closs’ infamy now lies with one of the first viral videos in NBA history. He suffered a beatdown outside of a Los Angeles nightclub in 2000 during his final NBA season.

Closs squandered his talent and averaged 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds over three seasons, which is way worse than it appears when you see he averaged 13 minutes per game.

20. Swede Halbrook

wrestlespective / Twitter

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: United States

Career: 1 season (1961-62)

Teams: Syracuse Nationals

Bottom line: One of the more enigmatic players in the history of professional basketball was 7-foot-3 Swede Halbrook, a fourth-round pick in 1956 out of Oregon State.

Halbrook was the tallest professional basketball player in history until the early 1980s, but he also was well-known for his enigmatic personality — coaches and teammates said he would go missing for “weeks” at a time.

After his one NBA season ended in 1962, Halbrook returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, where he spent the rest of his life working a series of odd jobs and died on a Portland city bus in 1988, at 55 years old.

19. Hasheem Thabeet

Hasheem Thabeet dunking on Damion James, Kenneth Faried

Sue Ogrocki / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Tanzania

Career: 5 seasons (2009-14)

Teams: Memphis Grizzlies (2009-11), Houston Rockets (2011-12), Portland Trail Blazers (2012), Oklahoma City Thunder (2012-14)

Bottom line: The first player from Tanzania selected in the NBA draft, Hasheem Thabeet was as bad (meaning bad) as they come when he finally stepped on the floor for the Memphis Grizzlies, who made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.

Thabeet was bad on his own, as evidenced by his career averages of 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds, but his career was made worse by the fact he was selected ahead of two future NBA MVP Award winners in James Harden and Stephen Curry.

After being drummed out of the league after five lackluster seasons, Thabeet has still managed to cash checks around the world and was playing in a professional league in Taiwan as recently as 2021.

18. Priest Lauderdale

atlantainformer / Twitter

How Tall?: 7-foot-4

Country: United States

Career: 2 seasons (1996-98)

Teams: Atlanta Hawks (1996-97), Denver Nuggets (1997-98)

Bottom line: Chicago native Priest Lauderdale played for NCAA Division II Central State (Ohio) and overseas for Greek club Peristeri before landing in the NBA.

Lauderdale’s NBA career only lasted two seasons — he averaged 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds — before he went back overseas, where he played another 13 seasons.

17. Sim Bhullar

Sim Bhullar on offense against Jack Cooley, Rodney Hood

Rick Bowmer / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-5

Country: Canada

Career: 1 season (2014-15)

Teams: Sacramento Kings

Bottom line: Sim Bhullar was something of a pop culture phenomenon at New Mexico State, where he was a two-time WAC Tournament MVP and helped lead his team to the NCAA Tournament.

After going undrafted, Bhullar caught on with the Sacramento Kings in 2015 and made history by becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA.

Bhullar has played the majority of his career for pro teams in Taiwan, where he currently plays for the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers.

16. Pavel Podkolzin

Tony Gutierrez / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-5

Country: Russia

Career: 2 seasons (2004-06)

Teams: Dallas Mavericks

Bottom line: Pavel Podkolzin played two seasons of pro basketball in Italy before landing with the Dallas Mavericks, where he lasted two seasons but played in just six games.

After his brief NBA stint ended, Podkolzin played another 13 seasons of pro basketball in Russia.

15. Slavko Vranes

Darko Vojinovic / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-6

Country: Montenegro

Career: 1 season (2003-04)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers

Bottom line: Slavko Vranes only played in one game in the NBA. And his career underlines a good point about some of the players on this list. That point being once some of these dudes get to a certain height, the exactness of some of their heights can be up for dispute at times.

In this case, Vranes has been listed at up to 7-foot-8 at different times. After he flamed out in the NBA, Vranes spent another 14 seasons playing pro ball in Russia, Serbia and Iran.

14. Tacko Fall

Noah K. Murray / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-6

Country: Senegal

Career: 3 seasons (2019-22)

Teams: Boston Celtics (2019-21), Cleveland Cavaliers (2021-22)

Bottom line: The story behind Tacko Fall’s ascent from the streets of Dakar, Senegal, to the NBA is the stuff movies are made of. A local coach heard a rumor about a player of unusual height playing basketball in the streets and tracked down Fall, then 15 years old, who already had grown to 7-foot-3.

Fall moved to the United States not long after, grew three more inches, and became a national sensation during the 2019 NCAA tournament for his height and shot-blocking ability.

13. Boban Marjanovic

Boban Marjanovic is one of the tallest NBA players

Matt Strasen / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-4

Country: Serbia

Career: 8 seasons (2015-present)

Teams: San Antonio Spurs (2015-16), Detroit Pistons (2016-18), Los Angeles Clippers (2018-19), Philadelphia 76ers (2019), Dallas Mavericks (2019-present)

Bottom line: Boban Marjanovic bounced around the NBA for four season before he landed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. He’s been with the team ever since and become a viral sensation in the process.

Boban is actually a study in determination. He played nine seasons of professional basketball in Serbia and Russia before finally making an NBA roster in 2015.

12. Chuck Nevitt

AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-5

Country: United States

Career: 8 seasons (1983-89, 1991, 1993)

Teams: Houston Rockets (1983, 1988-89), Los Angeles Lakers (1984-85), Detroit Pistons (1985-88), Chicago Bulls (1991), San Antonio Spurs (1993)

Bottom line: Chuck Nevitt is a great example of if a person is tall enough and even slightly athletic, basketball teams will find a place for you. He only averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds at North Carolina State but somehow found his way onto NBA rosters for five NBA teams over eight seasons.

Nevitt’s greatest accomplishment was as a member of the Showtime era Los Angeles Lakers, where he won an NBA championship in 1985 and is still the tallest player in league history to win a title.

11. Randy Breuer

Paul R. Benoit / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: United States

Career: 11 seasons (1983-94)

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (1983-90), Minnesota Timberwolves (1990-92), Atlanta Hawks (1992-93), Sacramento Kings (1993-94)

Bottom line: Randy Breuer was a schoolboy legend in Minnesota, where he led Lake City High to back-to-back state championships before he became an All-American at the University of Minnesota.

Breuer was the No. 18 overall pick in the 1983 NBA draft and carved out a respectable, 11-season career as a role player on four different teams.

10. Shawn Bradley

LM Otero / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-6

Country: United States/Germany (where he was born)

Career: 12 seasons (1993-2005)

Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (1993-95), New Jersey Nets (1995-97), Dallas Mavericks (1997-2005)

Bottom line: Shawn Bradley was a farmboy sensation out of rural Utah. He became a McDonald’s All-American in high school, then an All-American in one season at BYU, where he averaged 5.2 blocks per game — an NCAA freshman record.

After a two-year Mormon mission following his freshman year, Bradley was drafted No. 2 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1993 NBA draft and played 12 seasons for three different franchises mostly as a role player.

Bradley was hit from behind while riding his bicycle near his home in Utah in January 2021 and paralyzed from the neck down.

9. Gheorghe Muresan

TheFrizz87 / Twitter

How Tall?: 7-foot-7

Country: Romania

Career: 7 seasons (1993-2000)

Teams: Washington Bullets/Wizards (1993-98), New Jersey Nets (1999-2000),

Bottom line: Gheorghe Muresan‘s parents were normal-sized people. It was an issue with his pituitary gland that led to his massive height.

Muresan dominated for his college team in his native Romania, then for one season playing professionally in France before he was selected in the second round by the Washington Bullets in the 1993 NBA draft.

Muresan was a crowd favorite from the jump, winning over NBA fans with his gregarious personality and ability. He was named NBA Most Improved Player in 1996 and led the NBA in field-goal percentage in 1996 and 1997.

8. Manute Bol

Manute Bol blocks shot by Darrell Walker

Richard Drew / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-7

Country: Sudan (now South Sudan)

Career: 10 seasons (1985-95)

Teams: Washington Bullets (1985-88, 1994), Golden State Warriors (1988-90, 1994-95), Philadelphia 76ers (1990-93, 1994), Miami Heat (1993-94),

Bottom line: The sight of Manute Bol playing in the NBA was something almost too bizarre for fans in the 1980s to behold. Then he began hitting 3-pointers and we really lost our minds.

In an interesting twist, Bol spent the 1987-88 season on the Washington Bullets alongside 5-foot-3 Muggsy Bogues — pairing the shortest and tallest players in NBA history for a brief time.

Bol died in 2010, at 47 years old, of acute kidney failure. His memorial service was held in Washington D.C., and he was buried in his native Sudan. Bol’s son, Bol Bol, is currently in his third NBA season.

7. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Alan Diaz / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Lithuania

Career: 16 seasons (1996-2011)

Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers (1996-2010), Miami Heat (2010-11)

Bottom line: Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ career was a case of immaculate timing.

The second half of his career fell right in line with the emergence of teammate LeBron James becoming an NBA superstar, and “Big Z” played the final eight seasons of his career alongside James — seven with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with the Miami Heat.

Ilgauskas was a star in his own right, making the NBA All-Rookie Team and earning two All-Star nods in 2003 and 2005.

6. Mark Eaton

R.J. Carson / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-4

Country: United States

Career: 1982-93 (11 seasons)

Teams: Utah Jazz

Bottom line: Mark Eaton owns a pair of career records that will never be broken in the 3-point era — most blocked shots in a season (456) and average blocks per game (3.5).

One weird fact about Eaton is the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year who played his entire career for the Utah Jazz never scored more than 20 points in a pro or college game.

How is that even possible?

5. Kristaps Porzingis

Luis M. Alvarez / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Latvia

Career: 8 seasons (2015-present)

Teams: New York Knicks (2015-19), Dallas Mavericks (2019-22), Washington Wizards (2022-23), Boston Celtics (2023-present)

Bottom line: Kristaps Porzingis was one of the more heralded players to enter the NBA in recent memory — a player hailed as a “unicorn” by experts.

That promise has never paid off in any significant way. Despite Porzingis making his lone All-Star team in 2018, the Latvian power forward/center has not been able to stay on the court consistently.

Injuries have prevented him from playing anything close to a full season since his rookie year, and he bottomed out with just 17 games for the Washington Wizards in 2021-22.

4. Yao Ming

Rusty Kennedy / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-6

Country: China

Career: 9 seasons (2002-11)

Teams: Houston Rockets

Bottom line: The NBA reportedly brings in around $1 billion per year from China alone. They can thank Yao Ming for that. The league would not see even a small percentage of that money without the outsized influence of the 7-foot-6 Chinese center, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft.

Yao was nothing short of a phenomenon when he began his pro career at 17 years old in China, playing for the Shanghai Sharks. That phenom made the leap into the NBA, where he was a five-time All-NBA selection before injuries cut his career short.

If we’re talking about worldwide fame and popularity, few can compare to Yao.

3. Aryvdas Sabonis

Arvydas Sabonis defends Shaquille O'Neal

Kevork Djansezian / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-3

Country: Lithuania

Career: 7 seasons (1995-2001, 2002-03)

Teams: Portland Trail Blazers

Bottom line: Arvydas Sabonis could have been playing in the NBA as early as the 1989-90 season but chose to stay in Europe until 1995, when he finally joined the Portland Trail Blazers after the team drafted him in 1986.

His body ravaged by injuries, Sabonis was a pretty decent role player for six seasons, but NBA fans never got to see the player he was in his prime.

He was once described by a scout as a “7-foot-3 version of Larry Bird.”

2. Rik Smits

Rik Smits playing against the New York Knicks

Ron Frehm / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-4

Country: Netherlands

Career: 12 seasons (1988-2000)

Teams: Indiana Pacers

Bottom line: “The Dunking Dutchman” spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers after being taken No. 2 overall in the 1988 NBA draft — one of the more underwhelming drafts in NBA history.

Rik Smits held down the post for the Indiana Pacers for over a decade as a better-than-average post complement to Reggie Miller in the backcourt, although Smits was often maligned for his inability to rebound on an elite level.

Smits made up for it with his offensive prowess and his clutch play in the postseason.

1. Ralph Sampson

Bill Haber / AP Photo

How Tall?: 7-foot-4

Country: United States

Career: 9 seasons (1983-92)

Teams: Houston Rockets (1983-87), Golden State Warriors (1987-89), Sacramento Kings (1989-91), Washington Bullets (1991-92)

Bottom line: There have been few bigger basketball curiosities than Ralph Sampson — a 7-foot-4 center who basketball fans across the country became familiar with from the time he was in high school in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Sampson was billed as the next Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Sampson never even came close.

We still don’t understand how he wound up in the Basketball Hall of Fame for averaging 15.4 points and 8.8 rebounds in 456 career NBA games.