Body Size & Basketball
Body size is one of the most critical physical attributes for success in basketball. Height provides a clear advantage, particularly in rebounding, shot-blocking, and scoring near the basket.
tall Chinese basketball playerTaller players often possess longer wingspans and larger hands, which further enhance their ability to control the ball, defend opponents, and finish plays at the rim.
Over the decades, the NBA has seen a general trend toward taller, more physically dominant athletes, especially in key positions like center and power forward. While skill, agility, and strategy are all essential to the game, physical stature continues to play a major role in shaping player roles and team dynamics at the highest levels of competition.
Tall Players
One of the tallest players in the history of professional basketball is Sun Ming Ming, from Bayan in China. He stands 236 cm (7 ft 9 in) tall. In the NBA, Sudanese player Manute Bol, stood at 7 ft 7 in (231 cm) tall, and played for three NBA teams from 1985 to 1995. Of equal height was Romanian player Gheorghe Mureşan who also played in the NBA from 1993-2000. Olivier Rioux is the tallest basketball player ever, at 7'9 (236cm). He played first-year college basketball for the Florida Gators.
Anthropometry and Olympic Athletes
London 2012 Olympic Games
Here is some information from the analysis of the anthropometric data (height, weight and age) from the basketball participants at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Basketballers were the tallest on average of all Olympic Games athletes. The tallest male athlete of all Olympic athletes stood at 2.21m, the Chinese basketball player Zhaoxu Zhang.
| Sport | Age | Height (cm) | Weight (kg) | BMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OVERALL AVERAGE (all sports) | 26.1 | 176.9 | 72.8 | 23.3 |
| Basketball (all) | 27.2 | 192.2 | 87.1 | 23.4 |
| Basketball (females) | 26.8 | 184.2 | 76.1 | 22.4 |
| Basketball (males) | 27.5 | 200.3 | 99.1 | 24.6 |
Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Here is average data from the analysis of the anthropometric data of the basketball players at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
| Age (years) | height (m) | weight (kg) | BMI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVERAGE (all sports) | 26.8 | 1.77 | 72.0 | 22.9 |
| all basketball players | 28.1 | 1.92 | 87.8 | 23.6 |
| females | 28.0 | 1.83 | 75.4 | 22.3 |
| males | 28.2 | 2.00 | 100.3 | 24.9 |
The Growth of Shaquille O'Neal
One of the most famous 'big' basketball players is Shaquille O'Neal, the 'Shaq'. Here is a list of his growth development from age 4.
| AGE | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | SHOE SIZE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (years) | (feet/inches) | (cms) | (pounds) | (kg) | (US) |
| 4 | 3'10 1/2" | 118.1 | 56 | 25.4 | Size 12 |
| 6 |
4'3 1/2" | 130.8 | 82 | 37.2 | Size 2 |
| 8 | 4'8 3/4" | 144.1 | 108 | 50.0 | Size 4 |
| 10 | 5'3 1/4" | 160.7 | 139 | 63.0 | Size 7 1/2 |
| 12 | 5'10" | 177.8 | 192 | 87.1 | Size 10 1/2 |
| 16 | 6'7" | 200.7 | 265 | 120.2 | Size 15 |
| 21 | 7'1" | 215.9 | 302 | 137.0 | Size 20 |
| 25 | 7'1" | 215.9 | 310 | 140.6 | Size 22 |
Short Players
- Muggsy Bogues is the shortest person to play in the NBA, and played for a 14 year period. He was only 5 foot 3 inches (160 cm) tall. Another short NBA player was Earl Boykins who was 5 feet, 5 inches (1.65m) in height, he is the second shortest player in NBA history.
Related Pages
- Fitness Testing for basketball
- Body size changes in NBA players
- Height records, including the tallest and shortest in sports.
- The Tallest Athletes at the Olympic Games are basketballers
- Olympic Games Anthropometry for other sports in 2012.
- All about fitness testing, including anthropometry testing
- More on measuring body size from the fitness testing section.
- Sports Nutrition for Basketball
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