Tallest NBA Centers in the 2021-22 Season
It’s a well-known fact that height plays an integral part of the center positions in basketball. As a center, you are not only the tallest player on the team, but are also most closely housed near the basket, looking to get easy dunks and layups. In addition, centers are meant to provide a last line of defense against incoming drives to the basket, where height plays a central role in attempting to block layup and dunk attempts.
And if you are wondering who the tallest NBA centers in the 2021-22 season are, then you’ve come to the right article. We’re going to look at the tallest centers in the NBA league and discuss how their height helps them to both score efficiently and defend the basket against opposing teams.
Tacko Fall
Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall, or simply Tacko Fall, is a Senegalese basketball player who is currently signed to the Cleveland Cavaliers on a two-way contract with the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League. Tacko Fall’s is currently listed as standing in at 7’6”.
Fall was born and raised in Dakar, Senegal and moved to the United States at the age of 16. He would go on to play basketball at the University of Central Florida but would go undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. Following the 2019 NBA Draft, Fall would sign with the Boston Celtics and play for two seasons in Boston, quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Fall is currently the tallest player in the league and one of the tallest living human beings. With shoes on, Fall is listed as standing in at 7’7” and currently has a wingspan of 8-feet and 2.25 inches. His standing reach is an astounding 10-feet and 2.5-inches.
Joel Embiid
Joel Hans Embiid currently plays the center position for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a Cameroonian basketball player and was drafted 3rd overall by the 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft. Joel Embiid currently stands in at 7’0” and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in his first season.
Embiid was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where he played both soccer and volleyball and had planned to. Originally play volleyball in Europe. However, by the age of 15, Embiid would begin playing basketball and would model his game after the Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.
Discovered at a basketball camp, Embiid would move to the United States at the age of 16 to devote himself to the game and to reach the NBA. Embiid would attend the University of Kansas for one year and would be named on of 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year.
Foregoing his remaining college years, Embiid would declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft in 2014. Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers, Embiid would lead the team to multiple playoff berths. He has ben named an NBA All-Star four times and is a 3x All-NBA Second Team, a 3x NBA All-Defensive Second Team.
Rudy Gobert
Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel is a French basketball player and currently plays for the Utah Jazz. In addition, he plays for the French national team in their international competitions. Gobert currently stands in at 7’1” and has a wingspan greater than 7-feeet and 9-inches.
Gobert was born in the north of France, in Saint-Quentin, Aisne. He began playing basketball in 2003, at the age of 11. His professional basketball career began in 2009 when he played for the Cholet Basket junior team until 2013. In 2013, Gobert announced his eligibility for the NBA Draft and was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 27th overall pick.
Due to Gobert’s height, he broke the NBA Draft Combine records for both wingspan and standing reach in the 2013 combine. His large frame and wingspan have earned him the nickname, The Stifle Tower and in 2019 Gobert broke the sing-season record for dunks with 306.
Jay Huff
James Matthew Huff is basketball player and currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He currently stands in at 7’1” and was a four-year varsity basketball player for the Voyager Academy in Durham, North Carolina.
Huff attended the University of Virginia for college and joined Ralph Sampson as the only player in program history to record 10 blocks in one game. Although Huff declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft in the 2020-21 season, he would go undrafted. However, he would go on to join the Washington Wizards for the 2021 NBA Summer League and would sign with them before being waived.
Boban Marjanovic
Boban Marjanovic is a Serbian basketball player and the center for the Dallas Mavericks. He also plays for the Serbian national basketball team in international competitions and was named the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2015.
Marjanovic currently stands in at 7’3” and was raised in Boljevac in eastern Serbia. By the age of 14, Boban was over 6’10” tall and began playing for the Serbian professional team in their youth league. In 2015, Marjanovic signed with the San Antonio Spurs on a one-year contract estimated to be worth over $1.2 million.
Following his one-year stint with the Spurs, he would sign with the Detroit Pistons, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers, until his current contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
Bol Manute Bol
Bol Manute Bol, or simply Bol Bol, is a professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets. He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks and is the son of Manute Ball, another well-known basketball player for his height. Bol was born in Khartoum, Sudan but lived in Kansas from a young age.
Bol stands in at 7’2”. He played for the Oregon Ducks in college and was considered a top recruit. However, on. December 12, 2018, Bol would injure his left foot and would miss the remainder of the season. After one year with the Ducks, he would declare himself eligible for the NBA Draft.
Bol was drafted with the 44th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, who traded him to the Denver Nuggets for a 2022 second-round draft pick.