Top Lists

Top 10 Tallest NBA Players in the World

The top 10 tallest NBA players in the world are not less than 7 ft 3. The tallest of them all is Gheorghe Mureșan with a height of 7 ft 7 in.

Published

2 years ago

August 31, 2022

Praise Shogbade

Who are the tallest NBA players in the world? The field of basketball has the tallest sportsmen in the world. This has brought about a misconception that height is a major criterion for professional NBA (National Basketball Association) players. However, even though height has proven to be an advantage, there are no height rules in basketball.

Basketball is a sport where the tallest men/women compete with the shortest. In the field, players like Muggsy Bogues have proven that short players can equally make a name for themselves in basketball. Listed at 5’3″, he is the shortest basketball player in the history of the NBA. He was drafted 12th overall by the Washington Bullets in 1987 and also played for the Warriors, Raptors, and Hornets.

There are many tall basketball players who are above 7 feet. You’ll be shocked to know that some of them are close to 8 feet. In this article, we will highlight the top 10 tallest NBA players of all time and we can only hope our pictures will capture them fully. Now, that’s on a lighter note. Here you go!

10. Mark Eaton

Height- 7 ft 4 in (2.24m)

Mark Eaton was an American Basketball player who spent all his days as a player with NBA’s Utah Jazz. In 1989, he was named an NBA All-star and he was equally voted as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year twice(1985 and 1989). As a five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive team, he became one of the best defensive centers in the history of the NBA.

Eaton is credited with the transformation of Jazz from being a last-place team to becoming a perennial playoff team. He retired in 1994, ranking second in the NBA in career blocks. He was overtaken only by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

9. Sim Bhullar

Height- 7 ft 5 in (2.26m)

Sim Bhullar is a 29-year-old Canadian basketball player and he is the 9th tallest player in the history of basketball as recorded by Wikipedia. Bhullar currently plays for the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers of the Taiwanese P. League+. While at college, he played basketball for New Mexico State University.

The Ontario-born player played for Canada at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. In both games, he averaged 6.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds per game respectively.

Originally from India, Bhullar became the first Indian player to play in the NBA. He was once the 6th-tallest player in the history of the NBA before he was pushed to 9th place.

8. Pavel Podkolzin

Height- 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)

Like Bhullar, Pavel Podkolzin is equally 7 ft 5 tall and he is the 8th tallest NBA player of all time. The 37-year-old former professional basketball player played in the NBA and its Development League. Podkolzin started out as a professional player with the Russian team, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in the Russian second division during the 2001/2002 season.

Between 2001-2004, he signed with Italy’s Metis Varese where he played until Utah Jazz selected him in the 2004 NBA Draft. Although he was chosen late, Podkolzin was considered a high draft pics as a result of his size, blocking ability, and strength. The Russian player boasts of a medal as he was part of the junior Russian national basketball team. They won the silver medal at the 2000 European Cadets Championship.

7. Chuck Nevitt

Height- 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)

Born Charles Goodrich Nevitt, Chuck Nevitt is an American former pro basketball player. He was well known for being one of the tallest NBA players in the world. Nevitt is one of the players who maintained a position in their career. He played as a center throughout his nine-year career.

During his career, Nevitt played with various teams including the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Fulgor Libertas Forlì (Italy), Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs. He appeared in a total of 155 games, playing 826 minutes (5.3 minutes per game). He also played 16 playoffs across 5 postseasons (Lakers-7, Pistons- 7, Rockets- 2). The American player was a member of the 1985 Lakers’ championship team.

Chuck Nevitt is the tallest NBA player to ever win an NBA Championship.

6. Yao Ming

Height- 7 ft 6 in (2.29m)

Chinese basketball player, Yao Ming was a staple for the Houston Rockets between 2002 to 2011. He is not just the 6th on the list of tallest basketball players in the world. He is currently the 6th President of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Although Ming never won a championship while in the NBA, he was an eight-time NBA All-star. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson.

5. Shawn Bradley

Height- 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)

Shawn Paul Bradley is a German-American former professional basketball player. Bradley played as a center for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA)

He was a force to contend with in the NBA for over 10 years. He was a first-round pick in 1991 and he was drafted second overall. At Philadelphia, he averaged 14.8 points and 7.7 rebounds on 52% shooting in his season with BYU.

Bradley has competed as an international player for Germany. He was part of the German national basketball team that finished in fourth place at the EuroBasket 2001 in Turkey.

4. Slavko Vraneš

Height- 7 ft 6 in (2.9m)

Slavko Vraneš is a Montenegrin former professional basketball player. He started playing basketball with the Serbian club, FMP Železnik. After moving to the Turkish club, Efes Pilsen, he went to his native country in 2001 where he played for Budućnost Podgorica until 2003.

Vraneš has played for Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Crvena zvezda, Budućnost Podgorica, Partizan, Sanaye Petroshimi BC, Metalac Valjevo, Zob Ahan Isfahan, and Petrochimi Bandar Imam of Iran. He also represented the Montenegrin national basketball team in international competitions.

39-year-old Vraneš is the 4th tallest NBA player in the world at the moment.

3. Tacko Fall

Height- 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)

Now we have our top 3 tallest NBA players! Tacko Fall is a Senegalese professional basketball player who plays for the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League.

In the 2019 NBA draft, Fall was undrafted, however, he signed with the Boston Celtics later on. During his two seasons with the team, he became a fan choice before finally signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent in 2021.

Fall is not just the third tallest basketball player in the history of NBA, but he is the tallest current NBA player in the world.

2. Manute Bol

Height- 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m)

Manute Bol was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player. Bol is tied with Gheorghe Mureșan as the tallest player in the history of the NBA.

He first played college basketball for the Bridgeport Purple Knights (University of Bridgeport athletic team). Later on, he was selected in the 1985 NBA draft to play for the Washington Bullets. During the course of his 10-year career, Bol played for the Bullets and three other teams between 1985 and 1995. He was a center and is celebrated as the only player to retire with more career blocked shots than points scored.

In 2010, Bol died from acute kidney failure and complications from Stevens-Johnson syndrome. He passed on at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia at the age of 47.

1. Gheorghe Mureșan

Height- 7 ft 7 (2.31 m)

Gheorghe Dumitru Mureșan is the tallest Basketball player in the history of the NBA. The Romanian former professional basketball player had parents of normal heights. However, he grew to his incredible height as a result of a pituitary gland disorder.

Muresan led the NBA in field goal percentage (58%) for Washington between 1995-1996. He however suffered injuries to his knee and back in 1997 and this affected his career greatly. He however put up a career-high 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds while playing for Washington.

Both of Muresan’s sons, George and Victor are equally basketball players. While George played for the Georgetown University Hoyas, Victor joined the Hoyas as a walk-on in the 2020–2021 season.