Why Are NBA Players So Tall? The Real Reasons, With Data

By Low Key NBA Dec 22, 2022, updated Oct 18, 2026

NBA players are so tall because basketball selects for height; it does not create it. Height is about 80% inherited, and the 10-foot rim rewards every extra inch, so the league recruits from the very top of the human height curve. The average NBA player in 2025-26 was about 6’6.6″ (199.5 cm), almost ten inches taller than the average American man at 5’8.9″. About 7% of players were 7 feet or taller.

Below: the data on how tall NBA players are and how that has changed since the 1950s, what decides how tall a person gets, why height matters so much on the court, and the myths about growing taller.

NBA height at a glance

Average NBA player, 2025-26	6’6.6″ (199.5 cm); rounds to 6’7″
Average American man	5’8.9″ (175 cm)
Difference	About 9.7 inches
7-footers in 2025-26	42 of 582 players (7.2%)
Tallest era	2002-03, average about 6’7.25″
How much of height is genetic	About 80% (US National Institutes of Health)
Does basketball make you taller?	No

Why are NBA players so tall? The short answer

Selection. The NBA has about 500 roster spots and the whole world to choose from. Height is such an advantage that the league ends up filled with people from the tallest fraction of a percent of the population.
Genes. Height is mostly inherited. NBA players almost always come from tall families.
Nutrition and health in childhood let people reach their genetic potential. Populations have grown several inches taller in a century as diets and health care improved.
The game itself. A 10-foot rim, shot blocking and rebounding reward reach more than almost any other sport.

What does not explain it: playing basketball. Sport does not make children grow taller. Tall children get pushed toward basketball, which makes the cause look reversed.

How tall is the average NBA player?

The average height of an NBA player in 2025-26 was 78.56 inches, or about 6’6.6″ (199.5 cm), across all 582 players who appeared, by our calculation from Basketball-Reference’s player index. Basketball-Reference rounds the same figure to 6’7″. That is close to 10 inches taller than the average American man aged 20 and over, who is 5’8.9″ according to the CDC.

Since the 2019-20 season the NBA has required teams to list heights measured without shoes and certified by team doctors. Before that, many players were listed in shoes, and some listings were generous, so older numbers run slightly high.

How NBA height has changed since the 1950s

Players grew about three inches taller on average from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, then held steady near 6’7″ for about 25 years. The average dipped in the 2010s, when the three-point era favored smaller, faster lineups and the 2019 shoes-off rule trimmed listings, and it has risen a little since 2022.

Average NBA height by season, 1951-52 to 2025-26

Average listed height of every player who appeared that season, in inches (every fifth season shown)

Source: Our calculation from the Basketball-Reference player index, accessed 19 October 2026. Simple average across players, not weighted by minutes. 1967-68 to 1975-76 include ABA players. Heights are listed heights; since 2019 the NBA lists heights measured without shoes.

Show the data behind this chart

Average NBA height by season, 1951-52 to 2025-26
Season	Average height (in)	Feet and inches
1951-52	75.99	6'4"
1955-56	76.92	6'4.9"
1960-61	77.37	6'5.4"
1965-66	77.46	6'5.5"
1970-71	77.66	6'5.7"
1975-76	78.02	6'6"
1980-81	78.46	6'6.5"
1985-86	79.09	6'7.1"
1990-91	78.96	6'7"
1995-96	78.95	6'7"
2000-01	79.00	6'7"
2005-06	79.10	6'7.1"
2010-11	79.14	6'7.1"
2015-16	78.75	6'6.8"
2020-21	78.27	6'6.3"
2025-26	78.56	6'6.6"

Average NBA height by position

Centers average about 6’11” and point guards about 6’3″. Even the shortest position averages more than six inches above the typical American man.

Average NBA height by position, 2025-26

Compared with the average American man (20 and older)

Source: The Hoops Geek from Basketball-Reference data (February 2026); CDC FastStats for US men (2021-23 data). Hollow dot: general population reference.

Show the data behind this chart

Average NBA height by position, 2025-26
Group	Average height
Center	6'11" (83 in)
Power forward	6'8.5" (80.5 in)
Small forward	6'7" (79 in)
Shooting guard	6'4" (76 in)
Point guard	6'3.4" (75.4 in)
Average US man	5'8.9" (68.9 in)

How rare are 7-footers?

Very. In a 2011 Sports Illustrated analysis, Pablo Torre used CDC height data to estimate that fewer than 70 American men aged 20 to 40 were 7 feet or taller. That would mean an American 7-footer had about a 17% chance of being in the NBA, against 0.07% for a man between 6’6″ and 6’8″. Torre was clear that this is an extrapolation from a statistical curve, not a count, but it shows how hard the league selects for height. The economist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz put it another way in 2013: “Losing an inch makes you almost half as likely to make it to the NBA.”

In 2025-26, 42 players were listed at 7 feet or taller. Many came from outside the United States, which is one reason the league recruits globally. Our list of the tallest NBA players has every one of them, and our 7-Foot Prospect Database tracks nearly 400 more who are not in the league yet.

Why height matters so much in basketball

The rim is 10 feet high and the ring is 18 inches across. A taller player releases the ball closer to the target and over the defender’s hands.
Defense and rebounding. Height and reach let a player block or alter shots and grab rebounds with less jumping.
Wingspan adds to height. Scouts measure wingspan and standing reach at the NBA Draft Combine, because long arms make a player play bigger than his height. See Michael Jordan’s wingspan for an example.
It shows up in results. A 2020 study of three FIBA World Cups found that players on the 16 best-ranked teams were significantly taller than those on lower-ranked teams at point guard, shooting guard and small forward.

What decides how tall you get

Genetics: about 80%

The US National Institutes of Health puts the genetic share of height at about 80%. Twin studies agree: a study of 30,111 twin pairs in eight countries found heritability of 87% to 93% for men. Height is not controlled by one “tall gene”. A 2022 study in Nature of 5.4 million people found 12,111 genetic variants linked to height. When researchers at Brigham Young University analyzed the DNA of 7’6″ former NBA center Shawn Bradley, they found no unusual mutation, just an unusually large number of ordinary height variants.

Nutrition and health: the other 20%

Childhood diet, health care, infections and the mother’s health during pregnancy decide whether a person reaches their genetic potential. Over the last century, as these improved, South Korean women grew an average of 20.2 cm taller and Iranian men 16.5 cm taller, according to a study of 18.6 million people in 200 countries. Dutch men are now the tallest in the world, averaging more than 182.5 cm.

Growth plates set the deadline

Bones grow at growth plates near their ends. The plates close after puberty, usually around 14 to 15 for girls and 16 to 18 for boys, and after that height does not increase.

Can you grow taller like an NBA player? Myths and facts

Claim	What the evidence says
Playing basketball makes you taller	False. Studies of young athletes show sport does not change final height or the timing of the growth spurt.
Stretching or hanging adds inches	False. Good posture can make you look taller, but it does not add bone length.
Growth hormone makes healthy people taller	Only children with a diagnosed growth hormone deficiency benefit, under medical care. In healthy adults it carries real risks, and experts advise against it.
Height supplements work	No good evidence. Supplements are largely unregulated.
Good nutrition and sleep in childhood help	True, up to your genetic potential.

If you are still growing, the practical advice is simple: eat well, sleep enough and see a doctor if growth seems unusually slow. If you are done growing, the realistic way to play bigger is skill, strength and timing. Find out how tall you have to be to dunk.

The tallest players: where the curve ends

At the far end of the curve are players like Olivier Rioux, the 7’9″ UC Irvine center who is the tallest player in college basketball history (see our Olivier Rioux profile), and Victor Wembanyama, listed at 7’4″. The tallest players in NBA history, Gheorghe Muresan and Manute Bol, were both 7’7″.

Frequently asked questions

Why are basketball players so tall?

Mostly because basketball selects tall people, not because it makes people tall. Height is about 80% inherited, the rim is 10 feet high, and every inch helps with shooting over defenders, blocking shots and rebounding. So the NBA recruits from the far right edge of the height curve.

What is the average height of an NBA player?

About 6 feet 6.6 inches (199.5 cm) in 2025-26, by our calculation from Basketball-Reference, which rounds to 6’7″. The average American man is 5’8.9″, almost ten inches shorter.

Does playing basketball make you taller?

No. Studies of young athletes find that sports and physical activity do not change how tall people end up or when their growth spurt happens. Tall kids are drawn to basketball, which makes it look as if basketball made them tall.

How many 7-footers are in the NBA?

42 of the 582 players who appeared in 2025-26 were listed at 7 feet or taller, about 7%. The share peaked near 11% in the late 1980s and early 2000s.

What percentage of 7-footers play in the NBA?

A widely quoted Sports Illustrated estimate from 2011 puts it at 17% of American men aged 20 to 40 who are 7 feet or taller, against 0.07% for men between 6’6″ and 6’8″. It is an extrapolation from a statistical curve, not a headcount.

Can stretching or hanging make you taller?

No. Once the growth plates in your bones close, usually around 16 to 18 for boys, stretching cannot add height, although better posture can make you look taller.

Have NBA players gotten shorter?

Slightly. The average peaked around 6’7.25″ in 2002-03, fell to about 6’6.2″ in 2021-22 as the three-point era favored smaller lineups and the NBA began listing heights without shoes in 2019, and has crept back up since.

Sources

Last checked 19 October 2026.