What REALLY Happened to The Tallest NBA Players Ever

What happened to the tallest players in NBA history? In this video, we dive into the incredible stories of towering legends like Manute Bol, Tacko Fall, Shawn Bradley, Gheorghe Mureșan, Ralph Sampson, and Rik Smits. From on-court dominance to life after basketball, these giants of the game left a lasting legacy. Find out how their size shaped their careers and what they're up to now. Don't miss this deep dive into the lives of basketball's biggest stars!

[jasontroy]

Respect for Bol not just for his career but for his contributions to his people.

[stever]

SO MANY fans have no idea how good Sampson was. Watched him in person twice at Boston Garden, dude was so fluid

[travispavich]

Mark Eaton. My favorite player of all time, my first autograph, attended multiple of his camps, and even after he retired, he was a giant amongst boys, but he was a huge Teddy bear at heart. Miss him every day

[kevinwillette]

I met Manute several times at Mohegan Sun casino in the early 2ks. It's wild, because he is literally the tallest human being you've ever seen in your life, but at the same time he isn't as big as you imagine. Andre the Giant was almost a foot shorter and he FELT like he was 10 feet tall. The thing that really struck me about Manute was his arms, I swear his finger tips touched his knees.

[andycanoy]

Safe to say that Yao Ming was the most successful 7'6 player whereas Tacko Fall lacked enough skillsets and intangibles to warrant a long career.

There's more to basketball than just being tall.

[MikaaelFrank]

There was that 7'5" 350lbs guy called Sim Buhlar who landed 10 day contract with the Kings back in 2014-15 season

[marvinwhittaker]

Manute Bol was a true humanitarian. Giving back to his homeland.

[juandabbler]

Gheroge Muresan led the league in field goal percentage in 1994 & 1995.

Drafted same year as Bradley.

[THP]

Makes you realize how remarkable that someone of Shaqs dimensions could stay relatively healthy for long periods during his career

[gregbrewster]

“A bit shorter standing at 7’4” is a wild statement to fathom 😂😂😂

[doubletroubledad]

I’m hoping Zach Edey is going to have a successful NBA career: he was playing really well before he sprained his ankle, and hopefully he can come back strong when he returns.

[eightyeightkeys]

Bol bought a house in Lake Arbor which at the time was an upscale housing development in Largo, MD with a great public golf course. My late dad almost hit Bol with his tee shot.. Bol was standing at his fence in his backyard watching us. Dad pulled is drive and was yelling “Four” but Bol was not a golfer and didn’t know what that meant. We go over to apologize and Bol was like… I saw it.. it went right past my head.. and he was smiling… LOL. So close to death and he didn’t even know it..Crazy

[lacedsynthetic]

Tacko Fall just joined the NBL for the breakers, which is a great fit for him and exactly what the breakers needed for some inside defense, but then he injured himself during his second game...

[bobbituka]

Manute was an important humanitarian. May he rest in peace.

[nathanzettler]

most slept on basketball creator out there keep going love ya!

[robharrington]

We actually have no idea how old Manute Bol was. There was no record of his birth, and apparently his community never kept track of ages. There are some who speculate that Bol was actually over 50 while playing in the NBA, and that he died closer to 70 than 50. We'll never know.

[cromcccxvi]

Manute Bol + Allen Iverson= My favorite NBA Jam Team of all time

[guilhermekeffer]

Manute was such a nice guy, sadly, his kid is nothing like him

[netrade]

Tom Heinsohn had the best nickname for Mark Eaton...."The Human Detour!"

[seansturgill]

There are also many accounts, videos on YouTube as well, of Manute Bol's actual age. Because his record of birth was lost, he was able to go to the University of Bridgeport. This is because no one really knew his age. Professionals who played with him remember a story about how he made a scar on his forehead every five years in order to track his age. When he was NEW in the league, his teammates tracked his age at about 55 years old AS A ROOKIE. His Wikipedia age is only based on his assumed graduation age of 22. In fact he was likely the oldest player to ever play. This would explain his mature coordination to use his body as opposed to other giants who are still flailing around with limited coordination.