The game of basketball rewards height, and the National Basketball Association has seen its fair share of larger-than-life figures throughout its history. 

While the taller you are greatly increases the chances of playing in the NBA, even if you have a limited skillset, there are still some key disadvantages that can come with being too tall. A lack of mobility in guarding quick, athletic players, being more susceptible to double team turnovers and being a target for ferocious dunkers wanting to make you become a part of a future poster are among the pitfalls of being a giant in the NBA. 

But none of these historical players would regret winning the genetics lottery in size. Here is a rundown of the tallest players in NBA history. 

10. Mark Eaton | 7ft 4in 

Any list of all-time great defensive players in NBA history would be laughed at if the enormous Inglewood, California native did not feature. 

By getting crucial advice from the legendary Wilt Chamberlain during his collegiate time at UCLA, Eaton would understand how best to use his special height. 

The Utah Jazz would draft the Los Angeles-raised center in the 1982 NBA Draft's fourth round, and he would be one of the rare NBA players to spend his entire career with the same team. 

The main reason for his 11-season stay with the Jazz was Eaton developing into one of the greatest shot blockers in NBA history. He would finish second in most blocks all-time with 3,064, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 3,189. 

Eaton would win two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1985 and 1989, make three All-NBA Defensive First Teams and two All-NBA Defensive Second Teams. He would also lead the NBA in blocks in four different seasons and still owns the highest blocks per game average in league history with 3.5.  

9. Tacko Fall | 7ft 5in 

Currently the tallest active player in the NBA, the wonderfully named 7ft 5in center from Senegal has started to receive key minutes for the Boston Celtics as the 2020-21 season has progressed. 

Fall’s notoriety to most basketball fans arose from his collegiate time at UCF, leading the Knights to the NCAA Tournament berth in the 2018-19 season before Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Duke defeated them in the second round. 

Fall went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, but was picked up by the Celtics for their Summer League team soon after. His diligence has led to Brad Stevens making him a part of their rotation. 

8. Sim Bhullar | 7ft 5in 

A cult figure beyond just his massive size making him one of the tallest to play the sport, the Brampton and Toronto, Ontario native would become the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA. 

After not getting selected in the 2014 NBA Draft from New Mexico State University, Bhullar was picked up by the Sacramento Kings as an undrafted free agent. After his Summer League play with the franchise, Bhullar would be waived by the team after just two games into the 2014 NBA preseason.

However, his performances in the D-League (now known as the G-League) would have the Kings resign him to a ten-day contract in April 2015. He would go on to play just three games with the Kings at the end of that season. 

Bhullar has not played in the NBA since and has spent the majority of his professional career in China. 

7. Pavel Podkolzin | 7ft 5in

The tallest Russian in NBA history, it was not a lengthy career in the best basketball league in the world for the Lokomotiv Novosibirsk developed player. 

Podkolzin was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2004 and was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks. But the giant would go on to play just six games over the course of two seasons with the Mavs and never play again in North America.

He would return to his country and has spent the rest of his career in Russia.  

6. Chuck Nevitt | 7ft 5in

The tallest player ever to win an NBA title to this date, Nevitt would be drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1982 NBA Draft's third round after a modest college career at North Carolina State. 

Nevitt would play his rookie 1982-83 season with the Texas team before being released, finding his second NBA stop two seasons later with the Los Angeles Lakers. Serving as an ideal height for all-time great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to practice against, Nevitt would win that championship in La La Land in the 1984-85 season. He would move on before the 1985-86 season to play for the Detroit Pistons for three seasons before returning to the Rockets ahead of the 1989-90 season. 

Nevitt would finish out his NBA career with a four-game stint with the Chicago Bulls in the 91-92 season and a solo game played with the San Antonio Spurs in the 1993-94 season opener.  

5. Yao Ming | 7ft 6in

A cultural icon who brought the eyes of the most populous nation to the NBA. The legacy of Yao continues to have an impact today, even more than a decade since his last game. 

Yao would become the first international player in NBA history to be drafted number one overall without playing a game in American college basketball, as the Chinese giant faced the enormity of the expectations to perform well for his country.

Following in the footsteps of Wang Zhizhi becoming the first Chinese player in the NBA, Yao would overcome the many skeptics who thought the 7ft 6in man was destined to be more of a marketing gimmick. The Houston Rockets first major accomplishment in the NBA was indirectly forcing Charles Barkley to kiss a donkey’s behind after the Hall of Famer and TNT analyst made a bet that Yao would not score more than 19 points in any game during his rookie season. It took only seven games for Yao to accomplish that feat. 

Although many foot injuries greatly reduced his career to just ten NBA seasons, Yao would make five All-NBA teams, with two second-team and three third-team selections. With eight All-Star nominations, Yao would also become the first international player to lead in All-Star voting. 

After refusing to allow the Hall of Fame to induct him early, Yao was elected in April 2016 alongside follow popular seven-footer Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson. 

4. Shawn Bradley | 7ft 6in

Along with Gheorghe Muresan, Bradley would be the other historically tall center to leave a mark on 1990s NBA basketball.

The center was the most talented player over 7ft 5in to play basketball before Yao Ming's arrival. However, despite a very reputable 12-year NBA journey, some feel that Bradley did not live up to his high draft pick status. 

Nicknamed “The Stormin Mormon” due to his religious background, the dual national German and Utah giant would become a legend in high school and earned the MVP honors at the prestigious McDonald's All-American Game in 1990. 

After a great freshman season at BYU, Bradley would embark on missionary work for two years in Sydney, Australia before declaring for the NBA Draft. He would go on to be selected second overall by the Philadelphia Sixers, setting up many Atlantic Division encounters with fellow rookie giant Muresan for years to come. 

Blocking shots remained the strongest part of Bradley’s hand throughout his career, with his rookie season featuring a game in which he blocked eight shots in 25 minutes. His second season featured a Sixers franchise record for most blocks in a season with 274. But despite improved play, the Sixers would trade Bradley to their divisional rivals the New Jersey Nets at the beginning of his third season. 

Bradley would have strong games with the Nets, including setting a career high 32 points and 15 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks and securing the first triple-double of his career, a 19 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks dominant performance against Muresan and the Bullets. 

But then new Nets coach John Calipari was not a big fan of Bradley and his high salary, trading him to the Mavericks in the middle of the 1996-97 season. That would be the last time Bradley would be moved in his career, as he became one of Dallas’ most important players in his eight seasons with the Texas team. 

Despite inconsistency preventing him from being the dominant big man he could have been, Bradley did add more notable performances to his resume. He became only the fifth player in NBA history, and first off the bench, to record a 20 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks game. Bradley would finish his NBA career in 2005. 

A gentle giant, Bradley would unfortunately receive tragedy earlier this year. While riding his bike in January, he was struck from behind by a car and is now paralyzed after the incident. 

3. Slavko Vranes | 7ft 6in

Of the tallest players in NBA history, little is known or discussed about the now 38-year-old Montenegrin center. And the reason why is because Vranes went on to play just one NBA game in his professional career. 

The New York Knicks had the distinction of being the team to draft Vranes in the second round in 2003 Draft with the 39th pick. But Vranes was waived in December that year by the Knicks without playing a single second for them. The Portland Trail Blazers would sign him the next month to a ten-day contract, and Vranes made his single appearance in the Association before his contract expired. 

He would return to Europe and remain on the continent for the rest of his playing career until his final season in 2018. 

2. Manute Bol | 7ft 7in

One of the most beloved basketball players and greatest shot blockers of all-time, the lanky Bol enjoyed a ten-year NBA career. As skinny as he was tall, Bol’s physique was something that the basketball world had never seen before. 

After having success at Division II college Bridgeport, the Sudanese native was selected 31st overall in the second round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. Despite coming into the NBA weighing just 180 pounds, Bol would make an immediate impact by setting a rookie record for most blocks in a debut season with 397, averaging a whopping five blocks a game to lead the NBA in that category. The Bullets would go on to draft Muggsy Bogues in 1987 and earn the unique distinction of having the then tallest and shortest players in NBA history on the same team. 

After three seasons with the Bullets, Bol would be traded to the Golden State Warriors in 1988. It is where Bol began a trend that would be prevalent in today’s NBA: tall players shooting a number of threes. It was quite the sight, and its unusual nature would make Bol become a basketball pioneer. After he was traded from the Warriors to the Philadelphia Sixers in 1990, he would go on to make six threes in a game against former teammate and good friend Charles Barkley in the 1991-92 season. 

Bol would serve as a mentor to fellow giant Muresan in his second stop with the Bullets in 1993 after the Sixers and Miami Heat moved on from him. Bol would also play again for the Sixers (mentoring another young giant in Shawn Bradley) and the Warriors before his last NBA game. Unfortunately, Bol passed away in 2010 at just age 47 due to kidney failure. 

Thankfully for all of us, Bol’s unique legacy continues to shine through his extremely talented and equally lanky son, current 21-year-old Denver Nuggets stretch center Bol Bol. 

1. Gheorghe Mureșan | 7ft 7in

The man with the distinction of being the tallest player in NBA history is the remarkable Romanian. 

Muresan’s seven-year career in the best basketball league in the world would begin by being selected 36th overall in the second round of the 1993 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets. Muresan would deal with the mobility and athletic challenges of being 7ft 7in as well as he could, leading to him being a lovable giant around the sport. 

Muresan wasn’t a glorified sideshow however. Instead, he was a very good center who would capture the NBA’s Most Improved Player award and become the league’s field goal percentage leader (58 per cent) in the 1995-96 season. His 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.26 blocks per game that season was the best of his career, but he would lead the NBA again in field goal percentage the next year, shooting an even higher 60 per cent. 

As with almost all giants of the game, injuries affected Muresan’s chances of developing into one of the NBA’s best centers ever. His final game in the league would be with the New Jersey Nets in 2000. 

Tallest NBA players in the 2020-21 season

1. Tacko Fall | 7ft 5in

2. Boban Marjanovic | 7ft 4in

3. Kristaps Porzingis | 7ft 3in

4. Moses Brown | 7ft 2in

5. Luke Kornet | 7ft 2in