Growth matters when it comes to sports such as basketball. The basket is located at a level of three meters from the floor. Some players have to go out of their way to hit the ball, while others just need to raise their hands higher ...
Attention fans of sports games presented the highest basketball players in the world in the history of the NBA.
10. Ralph Sampson | Height 224 cm
Ralph Sampson (USA) opens the top ten tallest basketball players in the world in the history of the NBA. His height is 2 meters 24 centimeters. Throughout his career in the NBA, he took part in 456 games in which he scored more than 7 thousand points, made over 4 thousand rebounds, more than a thousand assists, about four hundred interceptions and seven hundred and fifty-two block shots. In September 2012, he was taken to the Basketball Hall of Fame. After completing his sports career, Sampson became a Richmond Rhythm coach.
9. Rick Smiths | Height 224 cm
Rick Smiths (Netherlands) ranks ninth in the top of the highest basketball players in the world. The growth of the former professional athlete is 2 meters 24 centimeters. He played at the National Basketball Association as part of the Indiana Pacers in the center position. Due to his great growth, Rick Smits has had problems with increased foot load since childhood. During their career in the NBA, they periodically arose constantly and did not allow to fully play season after season. As a result, it was precisely because of these problems that Rick Smits was forced to end his career after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1999–2000 playoff final.
8. Mark Eaton | Height 224 cm
Mark Eaton (USA) with a height of 2 meters 24 centimeters is in eighth place in the list of the tallest basketball players in the world. The athlete became popular not only due to his height, but also a good game in defense. Eton holds the NBA records for the average number of block shots per season (5.6) and his career (3.5).
7. Pavel Podkolzin | Height 226 cm
Pavel Podkolzin (Russia) - the highest Russian basketball player playing in the center position. The growth of the athlete is 2 meters 26 centimeters. Currently stands for Sakhalin Basketball Club. He is the champion of the Super League (2014-2015) and the owner of the Cup of Russia (2014-2015).
6. Chuck Nevit | Height 226 cm
Chuck Nevit (USA) ranked sixth in the list of the highest basketball players in the world. The height of the player is 2 meters 26 centimeters. Considered the highest basketball player to win an MBA title in history. In total, the NBA played nine seasons. Despite nine years spent in the National Basketball League, he entered the court in only 155 games, spent on the field and played a total of 826 minutes, which is about 18 full games.
5. Yao Ming | Height 229 cm
Yao Ming (China) ranks fifth in the list of the highest basketball players in the world. The height of the Chinese is 2 meters 29 centimeters. At the time of his appearances in the NBA, he was the highest player in the championship. In the past, Ming's parents were professional basketball players. The growth of the father was a little more than two meters, and the mother had a height of 1 meter 90 centimeters. Yao made his Chinese national debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In 2004, during the Olympic Games in Athens, the athlete carried the Chinese flag at the opening ceremony, according to him, he "realized his old dream." Yao Ming is one of the most recognizable and wealthy people in China, a number of large companies have signed contracts with him. A documentary was shot about his early years in the NBA, and he co-authored an autobiography. In July 2009, Yao Ming bought his former Chinese club Shanghai Sharsks.
4. Sean Bradley | Height 229 cm
In fourth place in the ranking of the highest basketball players is Sean Bradley (Germany, USA). The growth of the athlete is 2 meters 29 centimeters. Throughout his sports career, he has played on three NBA teams: the Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia Seventi Sixers. Until 2005, he played in the NBA. From 1987 to 1991 he played for Emery High School. This is one of the most talented basketball players. During his appearances for Emery, the team twice became the state champion and set a record for 68-4 wins and losses. Sean three times became a participant in the All-Star Game and twice received the MVP award for the season. In the last season for school, a player scored an average of 25 points, 17 rebounds and 9 block shots per match. Several sports publications named him among the All-American team. Sean especially succeeded in the match within the McDonald’s All-American match (12 points, 10 rebounds and 6 block shots), which earned him the MVP title of the West team.
3. Slavko Vranesh | Height 230 cm
Slavko Vranesh (Montenegro) opens the top three tallest basketball players in the world in the history of the NBA. The growth of the athlete is 2 meters 30 centimeters. Vranesh began his sports career in the Serbian Zheleznik in 1997. A little later, he joined the Turkish Tofash team, for which he played in 2000-2001. A year later, he returned to Montenegro, where for three consecutive seasons he played for Buduchnost. In 2003, he put forward his candidacy for the NBA draft and under the general number 39 was chosen by the club “New York Knicks”. In early January 2004, he signed a 10-day contract with another Portland Trail Blazers NBA team, but in the season, like in the NBA, he took part in only one match. Since 2013, he has been playing for the Serb Metalaz team.
2. Manute Bol | Height 231 cm
Manute Bol (Sudan) was one of the highest basketball players in the world in the history of the NBA. His height was 2 meters 31 centimeters. Bol was the only NBA basketball player who blocked more shots than scored points (2086 block shots and 1599 points). In addition, he leads the NBA history in block shots on average in 48 minutes - 8.6, far ahead of the second-coming Mark Eaton. In block shots, on average per game, Bol is slightly inferior to Eaton (3.34 against 3.50), since Bol rarely spent more than half of the match on the court. The ball is also included in the top 20 in the history of the NBA in the total number of block shots per career. Having completed his sports career, Bol was engaged in activities in charitable and human rights organizations.
1. Gheorghe Mureshan | Height 231 cm
Gheorghe Mureshan (Romania) tops the ranking of the highest basketball players in the world. Romanian's height is 2 meters 31 centimeters, which makes him the highest MBA basketball player. The abnormal growth of Gheorghe Mureshan is explained by the problem of the pituitary gland, since his parents were medium-tall. A resident of Romania began his career in sports with playing at the University of Cluj's basketball team. In 1992-1993, he took part in the French championship for the club "Po-Ortez". In the NBA, Mureshan began to play quite successfully, but was prone to frequent injuries. In 1995, he returned to France and played several games for Po-Ortez, after which he returned to the NBA, where he was named the most progressive player at the end of the season.