Every year, through the Draft Combine, NBA scouts collect precise data on the players to be drafted. A gathering now mandatory, which allows to know the height (with and without shoes of the players), their weight, or even the wingspan. As Victor Wembanyama was engaged in the playoffs with Boulogne-Levallois, the first choice of the 2023 Draft could not go to Chicago, and no one was really able to give his exact height.
This weekend, the mystery of his real size was lifted, and it was the Spurs who had the last laugh since they simply measured him on the day of his press conference. Without shoes, it’s 2m22, or 7 feet and 3.5 inches. “Actually, I’ve never measured myself with shoes. But I imagine it must be between 2m24 and 2m26” had explained the French on ESPN.
What size will the NBA retain?
With shoes, you have to add 1.5 inches, and we therefore effectively reach 2m26. On the side of San Antonio Express-News, we warned that we would use the height of “7 feet and 3 inches”, and at DNA of Sports, it will therefore be 2m22. Since 2019, the NBA has asked franchises to consider the size of players without shoes. Some follow instructions. Others less.
On arrival, will the Frenchman be the greatest player in the NBA next season? Everything will depend on the height chosen by the NBA… Among the players under contract, Boban Marjanovic is listed at 2m24 (7 feet and 4 inches) by the NBA, followed by Kristaps Porzingis’ 2m21 (7 feet and 3 inches).
If the NBA retains 2m26 as a height (which it already does ESPN), “Wemby” will be the tallest player in the NBA. But will he be the greatest player of all time? The answer is “no” since six players have surpassed that height in NBA history. They are Gheorghe Muresan (2m31), Manute Bol (2m31), Tacko Fall (2m29), Slavko Vranes (2m29), Yao Ming (2m29) and Shawn Bradley (2m29).
At 19, Victor Wembanyama may not have finished growing, and like other NBA players, he could still grow and get a little closer to the absolute record.
