RealGM

http://imgur.com/vnH31dX

Draftexpress measurement history for 2017 centers (70 out of 94 total for 2017 season have had a without shoes measurement - so if you don't see a center note that 24 are missing simply because their barefoot height is unknown)

And Newspaper Archives that specified stocking feet height (In-socks height) for Wilt era players. That's years of collecting - I omitted no one I was able to find the information for. So if you don't see a player you're interested in - it's because I have not found their without shoes height yet.

Just for the heck of it I threw in Jason Maxiell at the very bottom to compare with Wes Unseld since Maxiell played center from 2007-2010 for the Detroit Pistons

I'm mildly surprised that Wilt was only 7'1. I've heard that he was 7'3 from older fans.

PockyCandy wrote:I'm mildly surprised that Wilt was only 7'1. I've heard that he was 7'3 from older fans.

Wilt was clearly shorter than Kareem.

Kevin Durant is taller than 60% of the list. Crazy

OrlandoTill wrote:Kevin Durant is taller than 60% of the list. Crazy

Dwight Howard would fit right into that list and would be far away from being the tallest center. Same goes for Hakeem and many other centers so what is your point?

Pg81 wrote:

OrlandoTill wrote:Kevin Durant is taller than 60% of the list. Crazy

Dwight Howard would fit right into that list and would be far away from being the tallest center. Same goes for Hakeem and many other centers so what is your point?

I am aware of the context of the list, which is to show that yesterday's Cs are not any less different in size than today's C. My comment was in the context of detailing how weird it is that measurements aren't any more accurate for today's players compared to yesterday's and that a guy who could very well make this list is a modern day SF in a league trending smaller.

OrlandoTill wrote:

Pg81 wrote:

OrlandoTill wrote:Kevin Durant is taller than 60% of the list. Crazy

Dwight Howard would fit right into that list and would be far away from being the tallest center. Same goes for Hakeem and many other centers so what is your point?

I am aware of the context of the list, which is to show that yesterday's Cs are not any less different in size than today's C. My comment was in the context of detailing how weird it is that measurements aren't any more accurate for today's players compared to yesterday's and that a guy who could very well make this list is a modern day SF in a league trending smaller.

Thanks for the clarification.

Lakerfan17 wrote:

PockyCandy wrote:I'm mildly surprised that Wilt was only 7'1. I've heard that he was 7'3 from older fans.

Wilt was clearly shorter than Kareem.

Yup

The centers were the same average height or a little taller; after all, this was the age of seeking the dominant post-up player. Point guards were taller on the average too; more truly little guys today whereas in a league without a 3 point shot, size was more of an advantage. I would venture that the 2-3-4's of that era are appreciably shorter on the average as big athletic players today all want to be the unicorn rather than being pushed into the post at an early age. I have not done the work that CavsFTW has done to verify it though. THANK YOU!

Fantastic job. Must be very hard to find all these numbers. Thanks for effort

Keep in mind that centers here aren't only all-timers. John Thompson was a roleplayer. Same with Fox or Counts. I'm quite suprised that Swede was so tall. He had his share of problems off the court, but people prasied him for good defense in limited effort. Unfortunately, I've seen him only in one NCAA game against Bill Russell. I'd like to see him against Chamberlain. Same with Walter Dukes who was considered athletic freak when he played.

Dwight Howard was so tremendously athletic. It isn't often appreciated that he is actually undersized.

Cool stuff

I wonder what impact the age of players factors in here. We all know big men tend to keep growing longer than normal sized players. We're seeing two of the 76er's prospects having issues because of injuries while they were still growing. As the league drafts more guys under 20 I wonder how many of them are listed as shorter than they are because of age when they were measured?

OrlandoTill wrote:Kevin Durant is taller than 60% of the list. Crazy

Kevin Durant is listed as 6' 9" without shoes on Draft Express. It's possible he's grown since then, but that doesn't mean he has. He looked the same height as 83-year-old Bill Russell (or slightly shorter) during the finals MVP trophy presentation.