Manute Bol is tied with Gheorghe Muresan for the record of tallest NBA player. Yes, I know technically, Muresan is taller, but only by 0.25 inches. Bol is 7’ 6.75” and had an amazing career in the NBA across four teams. By the end of the said career, he had played 624 games and scored 1,599 points leading to an average of 2.6 points per game.
His NBA career started in 1985 when he played for the Washington Bullets (aka the Washington Wizards) until 1988. During this time, Bol was teammates with Muggsy Bogues who is the shortest NBA player ever at a small 5’ 3”! Can you imagine the contrast those 2 feet and 3.75 inches created? After the Bullets, Bol went on to play for the Golden State Warriors from 1988 to 1990. This is when he joined the Philadelphia 76ers through 1993. 1994 was a bit of a crazy year for Bol as he played 8 games for the Miami Heat before playing 2 games for the Bullets again where he was teamed up with Muresan. Then, Bol played 4 games for the 76ers before ending up on the Warriors for his last 5 games of professional basketball.
Bol’s career came to a close thanks to a knee injury sustained on November 22, 1994, when he was playing against the Hornets. After the NBA, he continued to play basketball until rheumatism forced his permanent retirement. Acute kidney failure and Stevens-Johnson syndrome were the causes for Bol’s death on June 19, 2010.
Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues
