Would you play in the NBA if you were 7' tall?

[Dr Hawk]

I'm not sure about the NBA but I think I could dominate the Euroleague

[JohnnySic]

If I dedicated myself, maybe.

With my current game, nope.

[JohnMax]

Half the posters on ISH have played in the Euroleague and won MVPs.

[AirTupac]

Without a single shred of doubt in my mind. Not even trolling. I am definitely more skilled than some of the big guys in the league right now, which isnt that farfetched considering many of them dont have the most basic of offenses down, but alas, I'm only 6'4. My coach played with Hakeem Olajuwon and he was telling me (maybe a lil bias) that he was the better player back in the day but Hakeem was a big man, and you cant teach height. Thats why one is an NBA legend and the other is a coach.

[Dr Hawk]

No one on ISH won the genetics lottery :(

[keep-itreal]

I would at least give it a try since you make so much money playing in the NBA

[sdot_thadon]

Without a doubt. Has there ever been a big that was dangerous both down low and from the permiter? Prime sabonis?

[Clifton]

I probably would have been NBA Christian Laettner, when he was playing with Wizards MJ, in college. NBA? Doubt it. I'm pretty good on defense but I would turn the ball over every other time I touched it.

[Rake2204]

As long as some of the debilitating factors that typically hinder seven-footers are avoided (namely, injuries), I'd say the chances are very, very good that I'd be in the NBA if I were seven feet tall.

That said, are we answering this question assuming we retain all of our same skills and abilities? Like, would I be a 7'0'' center with my same 35'' max vert?

If so, again, yeah, I think there's little doubt I'd have a good shot in the league. I'm totally average and forgettable at 6'4'' but if you throw my skills on that kind of extreme frame, things could get very interesting.

Moreover, a few years ago there was an estimate that suggested an American seven footer had a 17% chance of making the NBA (compared to 0.07% for someone between 6'6'' and 6'8''). Seven footers who play basketball are going to get looks whether their skills are elite or not.

Here's the quote from the Sports Illustrated article on seven-footers (the link itself is now 404'd though):


An actual accounting of 7-footers, domestic or global, does not exist in any reliable form. National surveys by the Center for Disease Control list no head count or percentile at that height. (Only 5% of adult American males are 6'3" or taller.) "In terms of the growth spectrum, 7 feet is simply extreme," explains endocrinologist Shlomo Melmed, dean of the medical faculty at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The term 7-footer is itself a kind of outer limit, a far-off threshold beyond which precise measurement seems superfluous. A 6'4" guard isn't a 6-footer, after all. The curve shaped by the CDC's available statistics, however, does allow one to estimate the number of American men between the ages of 20 and 40 who are 7 feet or taller: fewer than 70 in all. Which indicates, by further extrapolation, that while the probability of, say, an American between 6'6" and 6'8" being an NBA player today stands at a mere 0.07%, it's a staggering 17% for someone 7 feet or taller.

The fact that American seven-footers have a near 1 in 5 chance of making the NBA likely suggests a lot of us here (those of us with even semi-legitimate basketball experience and abilities) could find ourselves in the running at such a height.

Edit: Found a new link for the SI article, from a story titled "Larger Than Real Life": http://www.si.com/vault/2015/07/05/106084744/larger-than-real-life

[FKAri]

Sim Bhullar got in the league. That should answer the question.

You don't have to be Dirk or Yao or Shaq.

[f0und]

*uck yeah. thats the easiest route to becoming a millionaire.

statistically, if you're 7'+ and live in the united states, you have a 17% chance of being in the nba.

[midatlantic09]

OP doesn't realize how many scrub 7 footers (who can't shoot, can't dribble, no real post moves aside from maybe a jump hook) are in the NBA. The majority of NBA players with REAL talent are the guards and forward while most of these 7 foot guys are just big and have a huge wingspan making them defensively effective in the paint....they're in the NBA due to size, not due to actual skill.

That said, if I were 7 foot, I'd likely be playing (possibly even starting) in the NBA.

[dunksby]

If you are 7 foot tall, you better be a professional athlete, cause normal life is basically out of the question.

[Harison]

If I had some talent, sure. If I dont - I wouldnt make it to NBA even if I was 7'5. Even so called NBA scrubs are better than any of us here.

[Nuff Said]

These folks thinks they'd have their same skillset had they been 7' instead. Prolly think they'd be 80% ft shooter and 40% 3pt as well. Foh.

[feyki]

I will play in the nba without 7' .

[Lebronxrings]

im 6'6 and i know i am of the lower average in terms of nba skill level. I can beat some players and i could be a decent player there. If i grew 6 inches taller, i think i would be a durant/cousins type player.

[Psileas]

As long as some of the debilitating factors that typically hinder seven-footers are avoided (namely, injuries), I'd say the chances are very, very good that I'd be in the NBA if I were seven feet tall.

That said, are we answering this question assuming we retain all of our same skills and abilities? Like, would I be a 7'0'' center with my same 35'' max vert?

If so, again, yeah, I think there's little doubt I'd have a good shot in the league. I'm totally average and forgettable at 6'4'' but if you throw my skills on that kind of extreme frame, things could get very interesting.

Moreover, a few years ago there was an estimate that suggested an American seven footer had a 17% chance of making the NBA (compared to 0.07% for someone between 6'6'' and 6'8''). Seven footers who play basketball are going to get looks whether their skills are elite or not.

Here's the quote from the Sports Illustrated article on seven-footers (the link itself is now 404'd though):



The fact that American seven-footers have a near 1 in 5 chance of making the NBA likely suggests a lot of us here (those of us with even semi-legitimate basketball experience and abilities) could find ourselves in the running at such a height.

Edit: Found a new link for the SI article, from a story titled "Larger Than Real Life": http://www.si.com/vault/2015/07/05/106084744/larger-than-real-life

I find this 17% estimation very hard to believe, although many 7 footers end up being merely scrubs or play for like 40 career games, which I'm not sure many would be happy about. First of all, there are American 7-footers who aren't NBA players, but still play basketball, mostly overseas or only at NCAA level. Second, there are a few very tall athletes who don't even play basketball (don't even shows like the WWE have their own share of 7 footers themselves?), third, there are way more 7 footers who aren't even able to compete at any sport and at any level. Fourth, given that way fewer NBA players are actually 7 footers (instead of just being listed so), it seems like there is a very high chance (maybe at least 1%) that a 7 footer is also a genetic marvel, a la Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Garnett or Robinson (and I'm only talking about players who ended up being great at basketball, not just athletic big men, like Kwame). These are 5 true 7 footers and even only those 5 of them cover too "big" of a ratio of all true NBA 7 footers (have there been even 100 true 7 footers in NBA history?) to draw the conclusion that 1 out of 6 7+ ft guys in general are NBA players.

[Psileas]

Btw, how about being 7'5+? This might make it even more possible for someone to be an NBA player.
According to http://www.thetallestman.com/, however, there are 58 living people at that height and 4 of them are/were NBA players. So, only 7%. I don't expect this percentage to jump to 17% for people 7+ ft tall.

[ClipperRevival]

im 6'6 and i know i am of the lower average in terms of nba skill level. I can beat some players and i could be a decent player there. If i grew 6 inches taller, i think i would be a durant/cousins type player.

If I was 6'6", I would be dominating my local gym. But I'm 5'7". You are a pretty tall person. You should be dominating most people you play against unless if you are playing against people near your own height with high skill levels, like certain leagues or higher levels of pick up games. But in most local gyms, the talent and height level isn't that high.

[choppermagic]

17% of all 7 footers play in the NBA according to the stat. That's a big percentage. That's close to 1 in 5, more than 1 in 6.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2014/03/09/footers-percent-chance-playing-nba/fNnbP8zybYfXZtsw0eYPDK/story.html

So, if you think you are better in basketball than 5 out of 6 people you meet (not just bball players but everyone), and are 7 feet tall, then you would have a good shot to make it in the NBA. That's good odds.

[Rake2204]

I find this 17% estimation very hard to believe, although many 7 footers end up being merely scrubs or play for like 40 career games, which I'm not sure many would be happy about. First of all, there are American 7-footers who aren't NBA players, but still play basketball, mostly overseas or only at NCAA level. Second, there are a few very tall athletes who don't even play basketball (don't even shows like the WWE have their own share of 7 footers themselves?), third, there are way more 7 footers who aren't even able to compete at any sport and at any level. Fourth, given that way fewer NBA players are actually 7 footers (instead of just being listed so), it seems like there is a very high chance (maybe at least 1%) that a 7 footer is also a genetic marvel, a la Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Garnett or Robinson (and I'm only talking about players who ended up being great at basketball, not just athletic big men, like Kwame). These are 5 true 7 footers and even only those 5 of them cover too "big" of a ratio of all true NBA 7 footers (have there been even 100 true 7 footers in NBA history?) to draw the conclusion that 1 out of 6 7+ ft guys in general are NBA players.I think it may be important to keep in mind that the 17 percent line is an estimate, since statistics regarding the existence of 7'0'' humans in the United States doesn't precisely exist (or at least, it didn't when that article was written in 2011). Still, it's an educated estimate based on real data, not just a shot in the dark, so I don't think it's far-fetched to believe it's in the ballpark.

Moreover, the 17% number refers to American males between 20 and 40 years old.


The curve shaped by the CDC's available statistics, however, does allow one to estimate the number of American men between the ages of 20 and 40 who are 7 feet or taller: fewer than 70 in all.

At that point, regardless of whether 17 percent is precise, even if it's closer to 12 percent or lower, it seems the primary conclusion one may be able to draw is the chances of making it to the NBA as a seven footer is significantly more likely than even those standing between 6'6'' and 6'8'' (0.07%).

[OnFire]

Maybe... played C in HS at 6'4 240...against 7' guys (6'10-7'0) in 4 of my games..hah.. as my body type suggest was more into football (DE/LB/LT). If we can keep our same skills like shooting and ball handling if we were 7' i'm sure I could have back in those days, i shot around 90% freethrows every season, i could at least play in the last 5mins in this NBA.

[HurricaneKid]

i know i am of the lower average in terms of nba skill level.

Lower half you think?

GTFO.

I have played with NBA players. There are probably 3-4 ballers that post here. The rest of you guys who have some wild tale about why you weren't allowed to play high school ball need to GTFO. That you could possibly think that people who dedicate their entire life to a craft and had immensely more physical gifts than you aren't 100X the player you are today.

[Clifton]

Another thing: The center position is becoming obsolete. The career of any player who can't switch out on a 6'8 SF who can dribble will be in jeopardy in 5 years, if it isn't now.

Why draft Shawn Bradley to guard Drummond if Draymond Green or Boris Diaw can do it... while racking up double digit assists and hitting 4 3s?

[$LakerGold]

It would compliment my game -- that's for sure. I work in the post, so of course. a 200lbs. six footer trying to be Lamar Odom/Kobe. rofl. Worked my way up from JV to Varsity, our coach was clueless. Mostly 60% of our players who were supposed to be in Varisty were JV's. It was a shitshow.

Man, basketball was life.

[Duderonomy]

Why would you waste your life getting paid $10 mil a season to rot on the bench when you could be Drywaller who doesn't have to wear stilts? :wtf:

[diamenz]

i'd be dicking down rich white suburban milfs if i were 7' tall cuz i'd have a 10 inch cak.

[Lebron23]

i'd be dicking down rich white suburban milfs if i were 7' tall cuz i'd have a 10 inch cak.

I always knew you were a manlet.