Maybe the craziest standing reach I've come across (6'10.5" barefoot height with a 9'10" standing reach)

[FrodoBaggins]

Basketball-related anthropometry has always interested me because it influences a player's ability to play and impact the game. Many unskilled, unathletic, and inexperienced prospects have been given opportunities purely off the back of their height, reach, and span; at all three major levels: high school, college, and professional.

I'm intrigued by the relative possibilities of bodily proportions. For instance, the most disproportionate wingspan? BeeJay Anya: 6'8" barefoot height with a 7'9" span. Kevin McHale at 6'10" barefoot height was estimated to have an eight-foot wingspan but that's an unofficial measurement. Recently, a Reddit poster tried to debunk it but may have actually given it more legitimacy:

https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1fhgo4m/oc_proof_that_kevin_mchale_had_smaller_wingspan/

There are a number of guys in that +10 to +12 ape index range. Names include Manute Bol, Jojo Tugler, Talen Horton-Tucker, Stan Okoye, Dallas Lauderdale, Bruno Caboclo, etc. Patrick Ewing was another guy rumored to have a wingspan in the eight-foot range. Looking at his proportions and how he dunked I wouldn't be surprised. Barely had to get off the ground to slam it. Nate Thurmond as well.



In football, William "Refrigerator" Perry was 6'3" with a 7'4" (88") wingspan. Hard to believe but he was a massive man. Malliciah Goodman was 6'3.5" with a 7'3.5" (87.5") wingspan. MMA fighter Cornelius Godfrey was 5'10" with a 6'10.5" (82.5") wingspan. Heavyweight boxer Sonny Liston was 6'1" with a 7'0" (84") wingspan.

Concerning hand size, a Nigerian basketballer named Olu Ashaolu measured in at 6'5" barefoot height with 11.25" long hands.




You can see him wagging his long finger as his opposite hand hangs like a bear claw in the GIF below:



Shaquille O'Neal is roughly 7'0.5" tall and has 11" long hands. Bill Russell was 6'9.75" tall and had 10.5" long hands. Dexter Pittman is 6'9.5" tall and has 10.25" long hands. Xavier Tillman is 6'7.5" tall and has 10.25" long hands. Mychal Mulder is 6'3.5" tall and has 10" long hands. Rakim Sanders is 6'3" tall and has 10.13" long hands. Tu Holloway is 5'10" tall and has 9.75" long hands. Casper Ware is 5'9.5" tall and has 9.88" long hands.

NFL player Mo Alie-Cox is 6'5.5" tall and has an 11.75" hand span.

The most impressive relative standing reaches in NBA history belong to guys like Tim Duncan, Nate Thurmond, Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, Mark Williams, Patrick Ewing, Giannis Antetokounmpo, etc. Unfortunately, almost all of those guys don't have official measurements recorded. Mark Williams does, coming in at 7'0" barefoot height with a 9'9" standing reach in 2" shoes.

Some of the most impressive official measurements include Mo Bamba (6'11.25" with a 9'7.5" in 1.5" shoes), DeAndre Jordan (6'9.75" with a 9'5.5" in 1.25" shoes), JaVale McGee (6'11" with a 9'6.5" in 1" shoes), and DeMarcus Cousins (6'9.5" with a 9'5" in 1.25" shoes). Rudy Gobert measured in at 7'0.5" with a 9'7" in 1.5" shoes. Since being drafted, Rudy reportedly increased his reach to 9'9" by improving joint mobility.

I'm always on the lookout for players with measurements that push the boundaries of what's possible. Some of the numbers coming out of the Basketball Without Borders seem too good to be true. Senegalese Ibou Badji 6'11.5" with a 9'10" SR in 1.5" shoes. He was measured at 9'7.5" in a workout with an NBA team a few years later. Those numbers are definitely fishy, especially for some of the Indian players.



I heard rumors that seven-footer DJ Mbenga could touch the rim without leaving the floor. I believe this one because his arms are really long, has no neck, and has an unusually small head. He looks like he has microcephaly.



I came across this South Sudanese guy: John Riek. 6'10.5" barefoot height, with a 7'8.75" wingspan, and a 9'10" standing reach. I was aware of him and Saer Sene previously through the NBA Combine database but Riek's standing reach wasn't included for some reason.

Here's a photo of John casually touching the rim in flip flops:



He was billed as 7'2" and you'd think it watching him play. Turns out he's shorter than a lot of big men. That's how crazy his proportions are. Terrible athlete and basketball player though.

The South Sudanese have the relatively longest limbs in the world to go along with their tall stature. I can't help but think they're a potential basketball goldmine. True for most of Africa I guess. Luol Deng is doing good stuff over there.

Watch on YouTube

[Wallace_Wallace]

I rarely get a chance to watch NBA prospect game in person, but there were two people in particular that jumped out at me, they were Tayshaun Prince (In Detroit) and Anthony Davis (In Kentucky). They stretched out their arms out to block the inbounce pass and it looked so unreal, like an octopus waving its tentacles. Maybe at the time, they were both lanky (Prince was never bulky), it gave me a slenderman effect.

The two recent ones I remembered having that effect were Rudy Gobert (during the NBA draft, his wingspan looked crazy), and Mikal Bridges. There was one particular block that he made when he was with the Suns against Dallas in the playoffs a couple years back, where in a split second I went from "Wow, the Suns can't constantly let them get open for 3's" to "Did this guy just went from one side of the TV to the other and made that block?" It was freakish to see that.

[SNPA]

Nice post OP.

Any official measurements on Dr. J’s hands?

[FrodoBaggins]

Nice post OP.

Any official measurements on Dr. J’s hands?

Not anything official. He did compare hands with 6'8" barefoot Noah Vonleh, whose hands were officially measured at 9.75" long and 11.75" wide. Hard to take anything from these photos though. I believe Dr. J is 6'6" barefoot; he, MJ, and Kawhi stand out for sheer hand size for guards/swingmen.

[FrodoBaggins]

I'll also add that John Riek's measurements give me more confidence in Bill Russell's incredible standing reach.

6'10.5" barefoot height + 9'10" standing reach + 7'8.75" wingspan. Take off 0.5" to 1" of height and 4.5" to 5" of wingspan.

Gives you a possibility of a 9'6.5" to 9'7.25" standing reach at a height of 6'9.5" to 6'10" with a 7'4" to 7'4.5" wingspan.

And that's being generous: 1" of wingspan doesn't give you 0.5" of standing reach because of the contribution of the clavicle width. The ratio would be more like 1" of wingspan = 0.3" to 0.4" of standing reach. Adjusting for this would change the estimation to a 9'7" to 9'8.15" standing reach.

[Black Jack]

I notice Sudanese seem like they are tall but not great athletes. 7-2 slow guys have a tough time in today's league. You just shoot outside and pick and roll them off the court.

Personally I think Nigeria probably is the ultimate hoops goldmine, theres got to be more Giannis types lurking.