The Tall Men of Basketball (Part 2)
Mark Eaton
Number 7 on our list is Mark Eaton. Born on January 24th, 1957 in Inglewood, California; Eaton is mostly known for his massive frame. His height was 7 feet 4 inches and he weighed around 290 pounds. His height allowed
him to have a powerful defence. He also holds the record for most blocks done in a game and in a career. When he was in his youth, Eaton was not interested in basketball at all. In fact, he wanted to play water polo. He was discovered by Tom Lubin when he
was working in a car repair shop. Eaton was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1982. Eaton immediately impressed the crowds by becoming Utah’s starting centre and ending the season with 275 blocked shots in 81 games. In the following season, Eaton had 595 rebounds
and 351 blocked shots under his belt. He was named in the NBA All-Defensive First Team and received the NBA Defensive player of the year award. Along with Karl Malone and John Stockton, Mark Eaton took the Utah Jazz to a whole new level. In his final years
with Utah, Eaton slowed down due to knee and back injuries (a common defect in tall players). He played his last season in 1992.
Slavko Vranes
Our number 6th might be the worst basketball player in the history of basketball, but one thing is certain. This guy is TALL! At 7 feet 6 inches, Slavko Vranes is in the ranks of one of the world’s tallest basketball
players. Vranes started playing basketball at a Serbian Club. He was then signed by the Turkish club which went by the name of Tofas. It wasn’t until 2003, he was selected to play for the New York Knicks. He was fired on December of the same year. Vranes signed
a ten day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and only played one game in the entire season and that too for measly 3 minutes. Slavko Vranes is a prime example that being tall does not mean that one is automatically good at basketball.
Charles Goodrich Nevitt
Charles Goodrich Nevitt was born on June 13th 1959 in Cortez, Colorado. Like some of the other tall basketball players, Nevitt was also known for his height (7 feet 5 inches). He is still one of the tallest basketball
players to have played in the NBA. Nevitt played for various teams including the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons and the San Antonio Spurs. He was selected by the Rockets in 1982. Even though he played for 9 years he only played 155 games
and clocked in a total of 826 minutes. He was let go by the Golden State Warriors (one of the numerous teams he played for in his career) in 1993. He is now earning a living as an IT professional.
Shawn Bradley
On number 4 in our list of freakishly tall basketball players is Shawn Bradley. Measuring at 7 feet and 6 inches, basketball was written in his future. Bradley was born in Landstuhl, West Germany but grew up in Utah. Like most
basketball players, Bradley went on to play the sport in his college years. He was drafted in 1993 and played for the Philadelphia 76’ers. Like Mark Eaton, he was a good blocker, but he was not as strongly built. He also had an alright jump shot. He accomplished
shooting 92% from the free throw line. Bradley was inconsistent and not too aggressive. His skills slowly went south, especially when he played for the Dallas Mavericks due to knee problems. He retired from basketball in June 2005.
Yao Ming
Next on the list at number 3 is perhaps one of basketball’s most famous and known personalities. Yup, you guessed it! It’s Yao Ming! At 7 feet and 6 inches, Yao Ming is currently the tallest basketball player in the NBA. He was
born in Shanghai, China on September 12, 1980. He played for the Shanghai Sharks in his teens. He was drafted by the NBA in 2002 for the Houston Rockets. Yao has had his name in the All-Star NBA team five times in his career so far. Yao is the first international
player ever to be selected first overall without playing in the U.S College basketball. When Yao began playing in the NBA, people doubted his abilities to play. On January 17th 2003, Yao Ming met with Shaquille O’Neil. Yao scored six points and
blocked Shaq twice in the beginning of the game. He also made the game winning points by dunking the ball with ten minutes left in the game. Yao suffered from osteomyelitis; Yao missed out on 21 games. He recovered from the disorder only to break his knee
on December 23rd, 2006. Yao Ming was out for at least 4 years (2005-2009). He is expected to be back in 2010.
Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol
The next two players are tied in for the tallest men in the history of basketball. They are Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol. Both men are 7 feet and 7 inches tall. Muresan’s tallness is a result of a pituitary disorder. Coming
from a poor family from the district of Cluj, Romania, Muresan played basketball at Cluj University. He was selected by the Washington Bullets in 1993. He was given the title of the most improved player in the NBA during the 1995-1996 season. He retired from
the NBA and settled in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
Fighting for the title of the tallest man in the history is Manute Bol. He was born on the 16th of October, 1962 and died on June 19th, 2010. He was born in Turalei, Sudan. Bol played basketball for various
teams throughout his career and is mostly known for having more blocked shots than the points he scored. Bol died of acute kidney failure.
Tall people have dominated the world of basketball. They overshadowed their opponents and achieved their goals. Even though some of the players on this list were sub-par, there were many we can learn from. How to overcome problems
such as the CBA in Yao Ming’s case, or turning a gland disorder into an advantage like Gheorghe Muresan are just the few things we can learn from these gentle giants.
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