List of tallest players in National Basketball Association history
This is a list of the tallest players in National Basketball Association history. It is currently topped by the Romanian Gheorghe Mureșan, taken by the Washington Bullets as the number 30 overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft.
Through 2019, twenty-six players have been listed at or taller. Three are active as of the season; Kristaps Porziņģis and Boban Marjanović, both of the Dallas Mavericks, and Tacko Fall of the Boston Celtics. The tallest player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is Yao Ming. In addition to Yao, Ralph Sampson and Arvydas Sabonis were the only other players 7'3" or taller selected to the Hall of Fame.
Yasutaka Okayama, a Japanese basketball player picked 171st overall in the seventh round of the 1981 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, is the tallest player to ever be drafted for the NBA. However, he never played in the NBA.
| Height | Weight | Player | Nationality | Teams | GP | Pts | PPG | FG% | FT% | Reb | RPG | Blk | BPG | Notes |
| Washington Bullets | 307 | 3,020 | 9.8 | .573 | .644 | 1,957 | 6.4 | 455 | 1.5 | |||||
| Washington Bullets Golden State Warriors Philadelphia 76ers Miami Heat | 625 | 1,599 | 2.6 | .407 | .561 | 2,647 | 4.2 | 2,086 | 3.3 | Played alongside the shortest player in NBA history, Muggsy Bogues, during the season for the Washington Bullets; their difference in height was 28 inches. | ||||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | .000 | — | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | Played in one game, on against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Played 3 minutes, with one shot attempt from the field and one personal foul. Vraneš was officially listed as 7'5" while playing in the NBA, and has since grown taller, according to most sources. | ||||
| Germany | Philadelphia 76ers New Jersey Nets Dallas Mavericks | 832 | 6,752 | 8.1 | .457 | .716 | 5,268 | 6.3 | 2,119 | 2.5 | Born to American parents in the former West Germany. | |||
| * | Houston Rockets | 481 | 9,196 | 19.1 | .525 | .832 | 4,467 | 9.3 | 912 | 1.9 | Tallest player to play in at least one All-Star Game. Also tallest player inducted into the Hall of Fame. | |||
| United States | Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons Chicago Bulls San Antonio Spurs | 155 | 251 | 1.6 | .438 | .589 | 239 | 1.5 | 111 | 0.7 | Tallest player to win an NBA Championship. | |||
| Dallas Mavericks | 6 | 4 | 0.7 | .000 | .500 | 9 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.1 | |||||
| Sacramento Kings | 3 | 2 | 0.7 | .500 | — | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.3 | First NBA player of Indian descent. Played 16 seconds in his debut on April 7, 2015. | ||||
| ^ | Boston Celtics | 6 | 4 | 3.2 | .750 | .333 | 11 | 1.8 | 2 | 0.3 | ||||
| United States | Utah Jazz | 875 | 5,216 | 6.0 | .458 | .649 | 6,939 | 10.8 | 3,064 | 3.5 | He set records for most blocked shots per game in a single season and for an entire career —both marks still stand today. | |||
| Indiana Pacers | 867 | 12,871 | 14.8 | .507 | .773 | 5,277 | 6.1 | 1,111 | 1.3 | One-time NBA All-Star. | ||||
| * | United States | Houston Rockets Golden State Warriors Sacramento Kings Washington Bullets | 456 | 7,039 | 15.4 | .486 | .661 | 4,011 | 8.8 | 752 | 1.6 | Three time College national player of the year, #1 pick in the 1983 NBA draft, four-time All-Star, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. | ||
| ^ | San Antonio Spurs Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Clippers Philadelphia 76ers Dallas Mavericks | 186 | 1,145 | 6.2 | .583 | .773 | 733 | 3.9 | 73 | 0.4 | ||||
| United States | Atlanta Hawks Denver Nuggets | 74 | 255 | 3.4 | .472 | .554 | 143 | 1.9 | 26 | 0.4 | ||||
| Washington Wizards | 6 | 11 | 1.8 | .500 | .500 | 4 | 0.7 | 1 | 0.2 | |||||
| United States | Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves Atlanta Hawks Sacramento Kings | 681 | 4,599 | 6.8 | .467 | .628 | 2,986 | 4.4 | 750 | 1.1 | ||||
| Cleveland Cavaliers Miami Heat | 771 | 10,616 | 13.8 | .475 | .780 | 5,904 | 7.7 | 1,269 | 1.6 | |||||
| * | Portland Trail Blazers | 470 | 5,629 | 12.0 | .500 | .786 | 3,436 | 7.3 | 494 | 1.1 | Sabonis was originally drafted into the NBA in 1986, but was not allowed to play in the NBA for most of his career due to restrictions set by the former Soviet Union. | |||
| ^ | Memphis Grizzlies Houston Rockets Portland Trail Blazers Oklahoma City Thunder | 224 | 483 | 2.2 | .567 | .578 | 595 | 2.7 | 184 | 0.8 | Only Tanzanian player to play in the NBA. | |||
| United States | Syracuse Nationals | 143 | 786 | 5.5 | .347 | .591 | 949 | 6.6 | — | — | ||||
| United States | Los Angeles Clippers | 130 | 502 | 3.9 | .471 | .606 | 372 | 2.9 | 163 | 1.3 | During his collegiate career, Closs averaged 5.9 blocks per game, which is the NCAA Division I record. | |||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 46 | 70 | 1.5 | .519 | .500 | 67 | 1.5 | 13 | 0.3 | Only Korean player to play in the NBA. | ||||
| Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz | 15 | 26 | 1.7 | .308 | .625 | 36 | 2.4 | 3 | 0.2 | |||||
| Atlanta Hawks Cleveland Cavaliers | 13 | 33 | 2.5 | .625 | .273 | 32 | 2.5 | 12 | 0.9 | Only Cape Verdean player to play in the NBA. | ||||
| Utah Jazz | 12 | 24 | 2.0 | .440 | 1.000 | 15 | 1.3 | 2 | 0.2 | |||||
| ^ | New York Knicks Dallas Mavericks | 138 | 2,224 | 16.1 | .436 | .811 | 1001 | 7.3 | 263 | 1.9 | Was measured at 7'1" during the NBA Draft Combine. Is the tallest winner of the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. |