This list of 7’3 NBA players contains players who are currently active as well as those who have previously played in the NBA and have either retired or are playing in a different league.
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List of 7’3 NBA players
Here is a list of 7’3 NBA players with some information about their basketball careers.
Kristaps Porzingis
Kristaps Porzingis is a 7’3 Latvian basketball player who’s been playing the sport since he was 6 years old.
Having battled injuries during his career, Porzingis is now a proven player who has a rare combination of hulking size and basketball skill, making him a real asset to his team.
Porzingis is well known for his outside shooting ability, though he can also score from various positions due to his superior physicality.
Hasheem Thabeet
They don’t come much bigger than Hasheem Thabeet, who played for the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Interestingly, Thabeet didn’t begin playing basketball until the age of 15, meaning that he started off at a deficit compared to the likes of Porzingis, who’s been playing basketball since he was a (not so) small child.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Former Lithuanian basketball player, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
Like many basketball players, Ilgauskas battled injuries during his career. He was famed for his rebounding abilities and outside shooting skills.
Ha Seung-jin
Ha Seung-jin is a South Korean former basketball player who spent his career at the Portland Trail Blazers and the Grand Rapids Gold.
The other 7 foot 3 NBA players on this list are much lighter than Ha Seung-jin, who weighed over 300 lbs.
Do 7 foot 3 basketball players have it easy?
Height is obviously a big component of basketball, but is it a case of the taller, the better?
Obviously, for rebounding and blocking, having a long reach is a big advantage. However, the best 7’3 players in the NBA, such as Kristaps Porzingis, are also pretty athletic (very athletic for their size).
This mobility, coupled with their size, is what makes being 7 foot 3 such a big advantage.
It’s all about fulfilling your role. Someone who’s 7’3 obviously doesn’t need the playmaking or dribbling ability of someone an entire foot shorter.
What position do 7 3 NBA players usually play?
Due to their giant stature, 7’3 NBA players almost always play as a center because, at their height, they’ll always be the tallest player on the court, so it just makes sense for them to play center.
This isn’t to say that these players are just big and clunky; many of them are very skillful and athletic. It’s just that when you’re tall, you don’t need the silkiest basketball skills in the NBA.
In conclusion
When you consider that a 7’3 NBA player is a whopping 8 inches taller than the average basketball player (who’s already very tall), you begin to see why being 7 foot 3 is a big advantage in the competitive sport of basketball.
As time goes on and more tall people realize that they can put their height to good use in basketball, we might see more 7’3 NBA players. But for now, there’s only a small handful.
References
- Kristaps Porzingis | Washington Wizards NBA.com. https://www.nba.com/player/204001/kristaps-porzingis
- Hasheem Thabeet Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more. Basketball-Reference.com. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thabeha01.html
- Wikipedia contributors. (2023, February 2). Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zydrunas_Ilgauskas