How Victor Wembanyama compares to the tallest players in NBA history, from Manute Bol to Yao Ming

Scott Rafferty

How Victor Wembanyama compares to the tallest players in NBA history, from Manute Bol to Yao Ming image

For a long time, it was unclear how tall Victor Wembanyama actually was.

Now, we have an answer.

After being selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Wembanyama was officially measured at 7-3.5 without shoes by the Spurs. He has since been listed on NBA.com as being 7-4. Not only does that make the 19-year-old one of the tallest players in the NBA right now, but it makes him one of the tallest players of all time.

Here's how Wembanyama compares to the tallest players in NBA history.

MORE: How Wembanyama's salary compares to NBA's highest-paid centers

How Victor Wembanyama compares to the tallest players in NBA history

At 7-7, Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol are the tallest players to ever step foot on an NBA court.

Not far behind Muresan and Bol are Shawn Bradley, Tacko Fall and Yao Ming, each of whom is listed at 7-6. Fall is the most recent of the trio to have played in the NBA, appearing in 37 games for the Celtics and Cavaliers between 2019 and 2022.

The tallest player in the NBA last season was Boban Marjanovic. He is listed at 7-4 on NBA.com and 7-3 on Basketball Reference. He will now share the honor of being the tallest current player in the league with Wembanyama.

Here's a look at the tallest players in NBA history, according to Stathead:

PlayerYearsHeight
Gheorghe Muresan1993-20007-7
Manute Bol1985-957-7
Shawn Bradley1993-20057-6
Tacko Fall2019-227-6
Yao Ming2002-117-6
Sim Bhullar2014-157-5
Chuck Nevitt1982-947-5
Pavel Podkolzin2004-067-5
Slavko Vranes2003-047-5
Mark Eaton1982-937-4
Priest Lauderdale1996-987-4
Ralph Sampson1983-927-4
Rik Smits1988-20007-4
Boban Marjanovic2015-Present7-3
Randy Breuer1983-947-3
Keith Closs1997-20007-3
Swede Halbrook1960-627-3
Zydrunas Ilgauskas1997-20117-3
Tibor Pleiss2015-167-3
Kristaps Porzingis2015-Present7-3
Aleksandar Radojevic1999-20057-3
Peter John Ramos2004-057-3
Arvydas Sabonis1995-20037-3
Ha Seung-Jin2004-067-3
Edy Tavares2015-177-3
Hasheem Thabeet2009-147-3

Victor Wembanyama stats

2022-23 regular season (Metropolitans 92)

  • 21.6 points per game
  • 10.4 rebounds per game
  • 2.4 assists per game
  • 3.0 blocks per game
  • 0.7 steals per game
  • 2.6 turnovers per game
  • 2.0 fouls per game
  • 47.0 percent field goal shooting
  • 27.5 percent 3-point shooting
  • 82.8 percent free throw shooting

Scott Rafferty

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.