To play basketball, you need to fulfil the condition. You must have the adequate height for this sport. There are exceptions for some players who were not overly tall but had very successful careers. Allen Iverson was only 183 cm tall, but that did not make him one of the best players of his time.

This time, we will not deal with players who did not stand out in height, but the opposite, we will deal with enormously tall players. Officially, the two top players who played in the NBA were Gheorghe Muresan and the legendary Manute Bol. Both are 231 cm tall.

The top 10 tallest players in the NBA ever

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10. Boban Marjanovic-224 cm

Boban Marjanovic is a Serbian basketball player who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks. In addition to this team, he has played in the NBA in the San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers. In all the mentioned clubs, he mostly had an episodic role.

Due to his height, he became a favorite among fans, although his appearance resembles a bouncer in front of a Russian disco club. Whenever the ball gets stuck in the hoop, the audience immediately gets excited because Boban is in charge of taking the ball off. Boban even tried his hand at acting, where he tortured John Wick well. His current NBA record is 31 pts and 17 rebounds he achieved in March 2020 wearing the Dallas jersey in a game against the Denver Nuggets.

9. Sim Bhullar- 226 cm

Bhullar is a Canadian basketball player of Indian descent. Sim was not drafted in 2014, but for marketing reasons, he received a ten-day contract from the Sacramento Kings. He did quite well during the summer league, so he even recorded one triple-double. He then scored 26 points, 17 rebounds, and 11 blocks. He eventually played in three games and recorded a total of three minutes in the NBA.

He is the first player of Indian descent to ever play in the NBA. During his short NBA career, he managed to score just two points in his team’s defeat to the Utah Jazz. After finishing a short episode in Kings, he has been playing basketball in Taiwan for years, where he has voted the best foreign player a few years ago.

8. Pavel Podkolzin- 226 cm

Like the previously mentioned Bhullar Podkolzin did not play too much in the NBA. This former Russian basketball player was selected in the NBA Draft in 2004 as the 21st pick by the Utah Jazz but is currently traded to the Dallas Mavericks. It was predicted that due to his height, strength and ability to hit the blockade, he would be highly positioned in the draft, but that did not happen in the end.

During the two years he spent in Dallas, he played only 6 games and then was waved by the Mavericks. He returned to Russia after an unsuccessful episode in the NBA and played for Khimki, which, along with Dallas, is the biggest club he has played for in his career. He played for a handful of not-so-popular Russian clubs and ended his career in his native country three years ago.

7. Chuck Nevitt- 226 cm

Unlike the previously mentioned players, Chuck Nevitt had a significantly longer career in the NBA, although his minutes were also very modest. This player spent as many as nine seasons in the NBA. In those nine seasons, he played a total of 155 games. Nevitt was selected in the 1982 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets as the 63rd pick.

In addition to this team, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. With the Lakers, he won the title in 1985, thus becoming the tallest player in NBA history to win the championship ring. He did not play a significant role in winning that title because he played a total of 11 games that season and spent an average of five minutes on the floor. He recorded the most appearances in the 1988/89 season when he played 43 games.

6. Tacko Fall- 226 cm

Some measurements show it as if it is 229 cm high, but it is officially three centimeters lower. This Senegal-born basketball player made his NBA debut in 2019 when he played for the Boston Celtics. On his debut against the New York Knicks, he scored 4 points and 3 rebounds. Fall arrived in the USA at just 16 years old.

He arrived at a time of great boom in social media, so in high school, he drew public attention to himself. He was not drafted, but he won a contract with the Celtics over the summer league. He has spent most of his career in the development league, where he currently plays for the Cleveland Charge. So far, he has amassed just under forty games in the NBA without any noticeable effect.

5. Shawn Bradley- 229 cm

Shawn Bradley was known for his games in the Dallas Mavericks jersey, but he also played in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets. This German-American basketball player was known for his great blocking abilities. During his time in college, he once recorded as many as 14 blocks in an NCAA game.

In time, he became a "poster boy" where he often ended up as a "posterized guy". Bradley had a notable acting role in Space Jam. Bradley was limited in his attacking abilities but that was why he was great on defense. During his career, he recorded as many as 2,119 blockades. In the 2000/01 season, he helped the Dallas Mavericks collect as many as 228 blocks, which was a record that season. Bradley ended his career in the mentioned team in 2005.

4. Yao Ming- 229 cm

Yao Ming is the most popular basketball player from Asia to ever play in the NBA. Ming was selected in the NBA Draft in 2002 as the first pick by the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming is the best basketball player from Asia ever to play on the floor. His parents were the tallest people in China and they were both former basketball players.

Yao is a project of the Chinese government because his parents were forcibly paired. After being selected by the Rockets in the draft, he soon became a global phenomenon. When he was healthy Ming provided fantastic parties. Unfortunately, his career was ruined by injuries, so he retired at the age of only 30. He played in Houston for a total of 9 seasons from 2002 to 2011. He played in the NBA All-Star eight times. He has been a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame since 2016.

3. Slavko Vranes- 230 cm

Slavko Vranes is a former Montenegrin basketball player whose career lasted over 20 years. He didn't stay in the NBA for too long. Slavko was selected in the NBA draft in 2003 as the 39th pick by the New York Knicks, but he did not play, so he was fired in the middle of the season.

He then signed a ten-day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and played just three minutes. Shortly afterward, he returned to Europe where he played for many clubs. He achieved his greatest success playing for Partizan Belgrade, with which he played in the final four of the Euroleague 2010. Like most other high-ranking players, he was a great rebounder and has a great ability for making blocks.

2. Manute Bol- 231 cm

Manute Bol is another player from Africa who is on the list of the highest players who have ever played in the NBA. He was often on the front pages of many newspapers and was also often mentioned in many rap songs.

He was not overly skilled in attack, but he made up for everything with his defensive characteristics, so his career in the NBA lasted ten years. Bol is the player with the second-highest average of blocks per game (3.3). It is especially interesting to note that during his career he achieved more blocks than he scored points. He recorded a total of 2,086 blocks while scoring 1,599 pts. He has performed for Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami. He passed away very early at the age of only 47 and was known as a great human rights fighter in his native Sudan.

1. Gheorge Muresan- 231 cm

This Romanian basketball player, together with Manute Bol, is the tallest player who has ever played in the NBA. He was selected as the 30th pick in 1993 by the Washington Bullets. He got the role of a starter in his third season, so he got the status of a reliable player.

At one time he led the FG% in the league with 60.4%. In 1996, he won the "Most Improved Player" award, which is given to the player who has made the most progress in the league. In addition to Washington, he spent one season with the New Jersey Nets. Problems with injuries soon began, so he ended his career in 2001 in the Pau-Orthez jersey, with which he won the championship title in France.