Basketball
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Body Size & Basketball
Body size is the most important physical attribute for sucess in basketball. Tall players usually come with large hands and a long reach too.
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. He plays for the Maryland Nighthawks in the NBA. Another very tall player, Manute Bol, stood at 7 ft 7 in (231 cm) tall, and played for the Washington Bullets. The tallest current NBA player is Yao Ming at 7 ft 6 in (229 cm).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3'10 1/2" | 56 pounds | Size 12 |
| 6 |
4'3 1/2" | 82 pounds | Size 2 |
| 8 |
4'8 3/4" | 108 pounds | Size 4 |
| 10 |
5'3 1/4" | 139 pounds | Size 7 1/2 |
| 12 |
5'10" | 192 pounds | Size 10 1/2 |
| 16 |
6'7" | 265 pounds | Size 15 |
| 21 |
7'1" | 302 pounds | Size 20 |
| 25 |
7' 1" (216 cm) | 310 pounds | 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
- height records, including the tallest and shortest in sports.
- more on measuring body size from the fitness testing section.
