Like dinosaurs who once roamed the earth, centers used to dominate the NBA. From George Mikan to Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaquille O’Neal, championship teams were constructed around powerful big men who made their presences felt on both ends of the court.
With the philosophical shift to three-point shooting and “small ball” lineups, the modern-day NBA doesn't value the traditional center. So bigs have had to adapt. The agility to defend slashing scorers and the ability to knock down outside shots are now prerequisites to play in the league.
It’s led to a new generation of towering big men who boast skillsets more akin to that of a guard. There is no better example than Victor Wembanyama, the enormous 7'4" superstar center for the Spurs who won Defensive Player of the Year for 2025–26 with a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game with the ability to score from all three levels.
Thus, the tide is shifting a bit back towards centers who can dominate the game on both ends. There aren’t many of those, but there are more 7-footers than ever who are capable of navigating the modern NBA game with surprising deftness and mobility. Let’s take a look at who ranks among the tallest players in today’s league behind Wemby in San Antonio.
Tallest NBA Players in 2025–26
The NBA lists 42 players who measure at 7-feet or higher and were on a roster last year. As far as height, one big man stands above the rest.
At 7'4", Wembanyama is the tallest player in the league. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Spurs star was seen as the defininition of a generational prospect while coming up the professional ranks in France before heading to the NBA. So far he’s delivered on that potential; Wembanyama was an MVP finalist this year and, at 22 years old, can make a serious case to be considered the best player in the world right now.
Checking in behind him are a pair of 7'3" big men: Grizzlies center Zach Edey and Timberwolves two-way center Rocco Zikarsky. Edey was a first-round pick in 2024 after dominating the college basketball world at Purdue but was limited to 11 games in ‘25–26 due to injuries. Zikarsky was picked in the second round of last year’s draft out of the Australian pro league, the NBL; he played 28 games for Minnesota’s G League team, the Iowa Wolves, and averaged 15.8 points to go with 2.8 blocks per game.
Three players check in at 7'2" and a big grouping measures in at 7'1". Here are the 10 tallest players in the NBA this past season.
| Player | Team | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | 7'4" |
| Zach Edey | Memphis Grizzlies | 7'3" |
| Rocco Zikarsky | Minnesota Timberwolves | 7'3" |
| Donovan Clingan | Portland Trail Blazers | 7'2" |
| Kristaps Porzingis | Golden State Warriors | 7'2" |
| Walker Kessler | Utah Jazz | 7’2” |
| Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves | 7'1" |
| Chet Holmgren | Oklahoma City Thunder | 7'1" |
| Dereck Lively II | Dallas Mavericks | 7'1" |
| Brook Lopez | Los Angeles Clippers | 7'1" |
The tallest players in NBA history
At 7'7", Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan share the distinction as the NBA's tallest players ever. Both were beloved gentle giants.
Bol became a national story with the Bridgeport Purple Knights in 1985, when he averaged 22.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.1 blocks and led the tiny Connecticut school to the NCAA Division II men’s tournament in his lone season of college basketball.
The South Sudan native continued to be a fan favorite in the NBA. Drafted in the second round by the Washington Bullets in 1985, Bol averaged a league-leading 5.0 blocks in the 1985–86 campaign to finish second in Defensive Player of the Year voting as a rookie. His career mark of 3.3 blocks per game ranks second all time behind only Utah Jazz legend Mark Eaton (3.50).
Muresan was just as much a curiosity for basketball fans. He wasn’t as marauding of a defensive presence as Bol, but the Romanian had a very soft touch around the rim for an extremely large big man.
The 30th overall pick in 1993, Muresan developed into a capable scorer for Washington, raising his scoring average from 5.6 points as a rookie to 10.0 points in his second season. In 1995–96, he scored a career-best 14.5 points per game and shot a league-leading 58.5% to earn the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
The charismatic Muresan dabbled in acting, and in 1998, he made his feature film debut in My Giant with comedian Billy Crystal.
Yao Ming is the tallest player to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The 2002 No. 1 NBA draft pick by the Houston Rockets, the 7'6" Yao won Rookie of the Year, made the All-Star team in all eight of his NBA seasons and nearly averaged a double-double with career marks of 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
| Player | Team(s) | Years Active | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manute Bol | Bullets, Warriors, 76ers, Heat | 10 | 7'7" |
| Gheorghe Muresan | Bullets, Nets | 6 | 7'7" |
| Shawn Bradley | 76ers, Nets, Mavericks | 12 | 7'6" |
| Tacko Fall | Celtics, Cavaliers | 3 | 7'6" |
| Yao Ming | Rockets | 8 | 7'6" |
| Sim Bhullar | Kings | 1 | 7'5" |
| Chuck Nevitt | Rockets, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Spurs | 9 | 7'5" |
| Pavel Podkolzin | Mavericks | 2 | 7'5" |
| Slavko Vranes | Trail Blazers | 1 | 7'5" |
Tallest players in the 2026 NBA draft class
As eyes turn towards the 2026 NBA draft in June, there aren’t too many 7-footers slated to be selected. According to this year’s NBA draft combine numbers, at least.
Of all the players who were measured without shoes at this year’s combine, only Michigan’s Adey Mara and Italy’s Luigi Suigo are over 7-feet. There’s a good collection of big men who stand at 6'11" but true 7-footers are in short supply this year. There will be numerous players who didn’t participate in the combine who will hear their names called on draft day, so we can’t say for certain what the class at large will look like yet in this department.
Regardless, here are the five tallest incoming rookies measured at this year’s combined.
| Player | College | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Adey Mara | Michigan | 7'3” |
| Luigi Suigo | N/A (Italy) | 7'2" |
| Malachi Moreno | Kentucky | 6'11" |
| Henri Veesaar | North Carolina | 6'11" |
| Ugonna Onyenso | Virginia | 6'11" |
More NBA From Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.
