Manute Bol’s former coach Kevin Mackey is making a fairly startling admission about the late great big man.
In an interview with basketball writer Adam Zagoria that ran on Tuesday, Mackey, the ex-Cleveland State coach who brought Bol to the United States from Sudan in the 1980s, admitted that he faked Bol’s birthdate. He also revealed that Bol may have been 40 or even 50 while he was in the NBA.
“I gave him his birthday because they didn’t know how old he was,” said Mackey, who now works as a scout for the Indiana Pacers, of Bol. “Every athletic door is open at 19, every athletic door is closed when you’re 35. He was probably 40, 50 years old when he was playing in the NBA.”
The 7-foot-7 Bol, who was the second-tallest player in NBA history, played in the league for 10 seasons from 1985 to 1995 and averaged just 2.6 points and 4.2 rebounds but 3.3 blocks per game for his career. His birthdate was listed as October 16, 1962, and he passed away in June 2010. He also has an 18-year-old son Bol Bol, a highly-touted recruit who just committed to Oregon.
Image via NBA on YouTube
