Ranking The 17 Tallest NBA Players In History

Basketball, above all other sports, rewards players for being tall. The NBA has been home to the tallest athletes on earth throughout the years and these right here are the tallest NBA players in history.

Before get to the full list of the tallest NBA players in history, I want to note that I only included players here who have appeared the equivalent games played total of 1 regular season or more. So anyone with under 82 games was cut form the list. Thus, there are some honorable mentions like Memphis Grizzlies star Zach Edey who has only played 66 games so far and Tacko Fall who appeared in 37 NBA games before moving to China.

As a quick refresher, the basketball rim in the NBA is set to 10 feet high. Some of these guys like Manute Bol and his 10’5″ reach can easily reach above the rim while standing and not even need to jump.

Of the tallest NBA players in history appearing on this list, I have been the closest to Yao Ming during a Dallas Mavericks game where I saw him standing next to 7’0″ Dirk Nowitzki who looked tiny next to Yao Ming. These guys are truly massive! So without further ado, these are the 17 tallest NBA players in history.

17. Keith Closs: 7'3"

At 7’3″ and 130 games played in the NBA, Keith Closs Jr. played for the LA Clippers from 1997–2000. There are quite a few players tied at 7’3″ and 7’4″ but Keith Closs comes in as the 17th tallest NBA player in history on the official list.

16. Bol Bol: 7'3"

Bol Bol, the son of Manute Bol, is another player tied at 7’3″ and the 16th tallest player in NBA history. He was drafted in the 2019 NBA Draft with the 44th overall pick by the Miami Heat and has played 202 games so far in the NBA and averaged 6.2pts/game in his career. His scoring peaked in 2022-23 with Orland when he averaged 9.1 points/game.

15. Randy Breuer: 7'3"

Randy Breuer from Lake City, Minnesota was drafted 18th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, keeping him in the Great Lakes region he knew best. At 7’3″, Breuer is the 15th tallest NBA player in history and appeared in 681 games during his NBA career that spanned 11 seasons from 1983 to 1994.

14. Swede Halbrook: 7'3"

Swede Halbrook was a player from a different era. He was drafted in the 1956 NBA Draft with the 28th overall pick. Standing at 7’3″, he is listed as the 14th tallest player in NBA history (with over 82 games played), and he factored into 143 games in his NBA career.

13. Victor Wembanyama: 7'3"

Everyone here should know Victor Wembanyama aka Wemby who stands at 7’3″ and is listed as the 13th tallest player in NBA history with over 100 games played (117 total so far).

He was the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, made the 2025 NBA All-Star team, the 2024 NBA All-Defensive First Team, and has led the NBA in blocks in 2024 and 2025. Victor appears to be the extremely rare combination of agility and height, and ability to shoot the 3, that will take him to the NBA Hall of Fame if he stays healthy throughout his career.

12. Zydrunas Ilgauskas: 7'3"

Zydrunas Ilgauskas (7’3″, 12th tallest) was taken 20th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1996 NBA Draft would play 771 games in the NBA, have his jersey retired by the Cavaliers, average 13.0ppg, 7.3rpg, and he made the NBA All-Star team twice.

11. Hasheem Thabeet: 7'3"

Tanzanian baller Hasheem Thabeet stands at 7’3″ and is listed as the 11th tallest NBA player of all time with over 100 games played. He was the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and played 224 games in his NBA career but had trouble staying in the NBA and moved to the G-League and later off to China.

10. Arvydas Sabonis: 7'3"

Arvydas Sabonis, 2x winner of the Mr. Europe award, is the 10th tallest NBA player in history and the last one here listed at 7’3″. He played in 470 NBA games throughout his career after being drafted in 1986 with the 24th overall pick by the Portland Trailblazers. He began his basketball career as a member of the Soviet Union junior national team and flourished from there, averaging 12.0 ppg with the Trailblazers and 7.3 rpg.

9. Ralph Samson: 7'4"

Ralph Samson was the #1 overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft and averaged 20.7 ppg and 10.9 rpg in his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets. At 7’4″, he is listed as the 9th tallest player in NBA history with over 100 games played.

Samson appeared in 456 games throughout his NBA career and played for the Rockets, Warriors, Kings, and Bullets. He was a 4x NBA All-Star and the MVP of the 1985 All-Star Game as well as an inductee into the Professional and Collegiate Basketball Halls of Fame.

8. Rik Smits: 7'4"

The #2 overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft taken by the Pacers, 7’4″ Rik Smits played in 867 games during his NBA career, ALL of them with the Indiana Pacers. He was selected to the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, averaged 14.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 1.3 bpg all while enduring multiple invasive surgeries during his career due to his massive frame.

7. Mark Eaton: 7'4"

At 7’4″ and 857 games played, Mark Eaton is listed as the 7th tallest player in NBA history with over 100 games played. He came into the league through the 1982 NBA Draft when the Utah Jazz took him 72nd overall.

Eaton was a 1989 All-Star, 2x NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1985, 1989), and averaged 6.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 3.5 bpg during his career as an absolute block machine.

6. Boban Marjanovic: 7'4"

My personal favorite player on this list, 7’4″ Boban Marjanovic who appeared in 331 NBA games, entered the NBA at 27 years old as an undrafted free agent following a successful pro basketball career in Europe.

5. Chuck Nevitt: 7'5"

Up next is 7’5″ Chuck Nevitt who was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1982 NBA Draft with the 63rd pick.

Chuck Nevitt played 155 games in his NBA career and is in in the record books as the tallest American-born NBA player to win an NBA Championship, the 1985 Lakers, and is also the tallest American-born NBA player in history.

4. Shawn Bradley: 7'6"

The 4th tallest player in NBA history is none other than 7’6″ Shawn Bradley who played in 832 games during his NBA career, with most of those games coming for the Dallas Mavericks (my team) where I got to see him play many times.

At 7’6″, Shawn Bradley was an absolute UNIT of a man on a team that had 7’0″ Dirk Nowitzki. During his NBA career, Shawn Bradley averaged 8.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, and 2.5 ppg and was as reliable of a ‘big man’ as there ever was. The only problem he had was Dallas being in the West and having to face Shaq.

3. Yao Ming: 7'6"

At 7’6″ and 481 games played, former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is the 3rd tallest player in NBA history with over 100 games played. Yao Ming was the man on the court and was selected to the All-Star Game 8x and was named to the All-NBA Team in 5 seasons.

Yao Ming was the #1 overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft and I remember at the time some people worried he would constantly be injured due to his massive frame but teams were desperate for any answer to Shaq’s size and Yao Ming appeared to be that for the Rockets. During his career, Yao Ming averaged 19.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, and 1.9 bpg. He was a true force to be reckoned with.

2. Manute Bol: 7'7"

The second tallest player in NBA history, Manute Bol, stood 7’7″ and played 625 games in the NBA. During his NBA career, Manute Bol averaged 3.3 blocks per game and led the NBA in blocks during the 1986 and 1989 seasons.

1. Gheorghe Mureșan: 7'7"

At #1, the tallest player in NBA history was the Romanian giant Gheorghe Mureșan. He stood 7’7″ and played 307 games in the league.

He was drafted 30th overall in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets and was named the 1996 NBA Most Improved Player. He also led the league in field goal percentage in the 1996 and 1997 seasons, probably because he could easily touch the rim. He racked up 3,020 points and averaged 9.8 ppg during his career along with 6.4 rpg and 1.5 bpg. The biggest to ever do it!