Who Is the Tallest Player in NBA History?

Bol was drafted in the second round with the 31st overall pick in 1985 by the Washington Bullets. He made an immediate impact in his rookie year, averaging just 3.7 points per game, but also 5.0 blocks and 6.0 rebounds. He started 60 games and finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.

It was the best season Bol would have as teams adjusted and he never reached any of those statistical totals again. He remained a rotational player through 1992-93, playing in at least 58 games every season up to that point.

In 1987, the Bullets selected point guard Muggsy Bogues in the draft, giving Washington both the tallest player to ever play in the NBA and the shortest.

Bol was traded to the Golden State Warriors in June 1988 then to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1993. He signed a number of short-term contracts after that but played his last game in the NBA in 1994-95 with the Warriors.

He finished his career having blocked 2,086 shots, 17th most in league history.

Gheorghe Muresan’s NBA Career

Muresan, like Bol, was taken in the second round of the NBA Draft and also by the Bullets. Washington took him with the No. 30 pick in 1993, though he didn’t quite have the same immediate impact as Bol did his rookie season, playing in 54 games with two starts.

Those numbers went up in 1994-95, then skyrocketed in 1995-96 as Muresan won the league’s Most Improved Player award at the end of the season. He averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks that season. He practically maintained that level of play the next year, though his numbers did drop somewhat. Still, the Bullets made the playoffs for the first time since 1988.

Ankle and back problems forced Muresan to miss the entire 1997-98 season and though he returned in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 with the New Jersey Nets, he played in just 32 games the rest of his NBA career.

Manute Bol’s and Gheorghe Muresan’s Retirement

Bol played in the Continental Basketball Association in 1995-96 and in the United States Basketball League in 1996, as well, before finishing his basketball career in Italy in 1997 and Qatar in 1998. He has spent much of his playing career and post-basketball career as a humanitarian for his home country of Sudan. He died in June 2010 at 47 years old.

His son Bol Bol, who stands 7-foot-3, played for three teams in the NBA from 2019 to 2025.

Muresan played one year in the French league after leaving the NBA then returned to the United States to live. He has appeared in three movies, including 1998’s “My Giant” alongside Billy Crystal.