Oklahoma City Thunder center Hasheem Thabeet is currently the tallest player in the NBA. The former UConn standout stands at 7 feet, 3 inches tall. Tacko Fall is two inches taller than him, and he’s only a high schooler.
At 7-foot-5, Fall is the tallest high school basketball player in the country. He would also be the tallest player in the NBA. As you might expect, the Liberty Christian Prep (Fla.) junior can barely fit into most cars and has to sleep diagonally across his bed. He also bumps his head a lot.
“When I walk through the door, every once in a while I forget to duck, and I’ll hit my head,” Fall told the Orlando Sentinel back in November. “I hit my head on the ceiling fan in [Liberty Christian coach Paul Archer’s] house the first time I was there. It almost knocked me out. It hurt.”
Fall, who can dunk without jumping, has an incredible 8-foot wingspan. He just began playing basketball a few years ago when his family came over from Senegal, so he’s still a very raw talent.
“Kids from Senegal tend to be passive,” Liberty Christian coach Paul Archer said. “You have to get them to understand the American way of playing basketball. One thing we need to do is get him in the weight room and get him stronger.
“There still is a lot of work we have to do with him. Next year is his big year.”
Big is an understatement. Fall doesn’t even have to know how to put the ball in the basket and he would still be an intriguing NBA prospect. That type of height is extremely rare, and any NBA scout would salivate over it. There will be no shortage of interest in the 7-foot-5 giant.
H/T Uproxx
