Shaquille O’Neal is one of the greatest players in NBA history. In his 19-year career, he won 4 titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. Along with being one of the greatest ever, Shaq is also one of the tallest players to play in the NBA. But there are some players who were taller than him. There were also some players who looked like dwarfs next to him.
One of the reasons why Shaq was the most dominant big man was his size and weight. It helped dominate the paint and not a lot of players could keep up to him. And those who did ended up being humiliated. Shaq is a 7-foot-1 and 325 pounds hall of fame center. But there was one player who gave Shaq a little trouble.
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That was Yao Ming. Yao was 7 foot 6, and he had no problem going up against Shaq. He was probably the only player that Shaq had difficulty getting his shot off. But Yao Ming was not the tallest player in NBA history.
2 players were more than a half a foot taller than Shaquille O’Neal
The tallest players in NBA history were Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol. Muresan is actually like Bol, but he takes the crown due to his immense size. But his career in the NBA was cut short because of injuries. Meanwhile, Bol was a very entertaining player to watch. He is the only player who averaged more blocks than points. He was also a very good three-point shooter.
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There were some players who could excel despite being very short. The most notable among them would be Muggsy Bogues. Measuring at 5-foot-3, Bogues is the shortest NBA player of all time. He was very popular while he was playing and he even appeared in Space Jam. Another noted player was Spud Webb. He was noted for being a great dunker despite being only 5-foot-6. He had insane athleticism, and he even won the 1986 dunk contest.
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