Top 10 Tallest Asian Basketball Player In NBA History

Sun Mingming is the tallest NBA player ever with a staggering height of 7 foot 9 inches. Sun is a two-time CBA champion.  

He attended Ventura College in California where he played basketball for 2005-06. Although he was undrafted in the NBA draft of 2005, he played for several minor leagues.

The Chinese player played for the USBL team Dodge City Legend, the ABA team Maryland Nighthawks and the IBL team Grand Rapids Flight.

Mingming was also approached by the Harlem Globetrotters in 2007 but he rejected them.

In 2007 he played for the Mexican league with Fuerza Regia and Japanese league Hamamatsu Phoenix in the season of 2008 to 2009.

The Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association drafted Sun who helped lead the team to the 2012 CBA Finals.

Although they suffered a defeat in the finals the Beijing Ducks bounced back and won the championships in both the 2014 and 2015 CBA Finals with Mingming playing a pivotal role in their victories.

Yasutaka Okayama was in the NBA draft of 1981 in the 8th round by the Golden State Warriors. Yasutaka had a weight of 330 lb. (150 kg).

Although he got picked by the State Warrior in the 171st pick of the 8th round he didn’t form any contract with them. With his height of 7 feet and 8 inches, he was recorded as the tallest player to be drafted in National Basketball Association (NBA) history.

He played basketball since he was 8 years old while he was studying at Osaka University of Commerce. Later in 1975, he was recruited by the University of Portland but due to some conditions, he came back to Japan.

Okayama joined the Sumitomo Metal Sparks basketball club and later made an alliance with the national team of Japan from 1979 and 1986. He took his retirement in 1996.

In 1993 he began his coaching career by becoming an assistant at Sumitomo Metal Sparks. From 1996 to 1999, he was an assistant coach for Osaka University of Commerce.

Yao Ming played for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Yao is the 6th President of the Chinese Basketball Association.

He started his professional journey by joining Shanghai Sharks in 1997. The Sharks won their first CBA champions in 2002 where Ming averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game.

Later in 2002, Yao was drafted into the NBA by the Houston Rockets in the 1st round of the 1st overall pick. He was associated with the Rockets till July 2011.

Ming became 8th time NBA All-Star from 2003 to 2009 and in 2011. He was also twice in the All-NBA Second Team once in 2007 and 2009. Yao Ming height in feet is 7 feet and 6 inches.

During his total career, he made 9,247 points, 4,494 rebounds and 920 blocks. Shaquille O'Neal also talked about his 7-foot 6-inch height in 2003.

Yao also played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics representing China. He also led the Chinese national team to three consecutive FIBA Asia Cup gold medals, winning the 2001 FIBA Asian Championship, the 2003 FIBA Asian Championship and the 2005 FIBA Asian Championship.

Currently, he is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Ha Seung-jin was the KBL Championship winner in 2009 and 2011. Seung-jin is standing tall with a height of 7 feet and 3 inches.

Although he studied in South Korea during his senior year, he later moved to Los Angeles, California. He got into the NBA draft of 2004 and got selected in the 2nd round with the 46th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.

He played 19 games for the Portland Trail Blazers but his highest achievement in his early career can be considered when he scored 13 points against the Los Angeles Lakers grabbing the victory in the 2004-05 season.

For the 2006 season, the Milwaukee Bucks acquired him but later waived him before the beginning of the season. the Anaheim Arsenal of the NBA Development League acquired him on December 31, 2006.

He returned to South Korea joining Jeonju KCC Egis from 2008 till the end season of 2019 where he won KBL Best 5 three times.

Seung-jin also embodied the South Korean national basketball team in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship, 2010 Asian Games and 2011 FIBA Asia Championship.

Kai Sotto is playing for the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japanese B. League. Kai is just 21 years old with a height of 7 foot 3 inches.

He is the second tallest among Filipino men behind William Biscocho (7’4”) but is considered one of the tallest Asian basketball players. Sotto got undrafted in the NBA draft 2022.

After playing high school basketball at the Ateneo Blue Eaglets of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines he moved to the USA.

U.S. college recruiting considered Kai to be a four-star recruit so he received various offers through NCAA Division I schools but rather chose to play for NBA G League Ignite in 2020.

In November 2019, Sotto joined The Skill Factory based in Atlanta, Georgia. During his first game, he met with a loss against the IMG Academy by the final score of 65 - 61.

In 2020, he was named MVP of the King Invitational tournament for an average of 27 points and 10.6 rebounds in three games.

On May 13, 2020, Sotto made a contractual commitment to join the NBA G League Ignite but had to travel for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. Later it was revealed that he would not be playing for Ignite.

Presently, in 2023 he is associated with Hiroshima Dragonflies. He is a young player who has received offers from the Orlando Magic to play in the NBA Summer League.

Hamed Haddadi falls in the category of the first Iranian NBA Asian players. Hamed won a CBA championship in 2016.

The 7-foot and 2-inch player began his career playing for Shahin Ahvaz. He played for many of his hometown clubs and was even offered a contract from the Serbian League.

He was a free agent after he got undrafted in the 2004 NBA. He signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008 and that contract got renewed till 2013.

Iran has won numerous international medals under Haddadi, a bronze medal at the 2006 Asian Games and gold medals at the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship and 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.

He has also twice represented Iran in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Haddadi has been playing with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the CBA since September 2013. He was named the NBL MVP in 2018 and 2020. He has also led Sichuan to CBA championships in 2016.

Zhou Qi is one of the Asian players in NBA who joined the Tigers in 2023. Zhou is a center player standing tall with a height of 7'1".

He began his professional career by joining the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the CBA in 2014. During his time with the Tigers, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17 and they were also able to win their first CBA championship trophy.

In 2016 he got selected by the Houston Rockets on the NBA draft of 2016 in the second round. He had one of the longest wing span of 7'7¾" (2.33 m). He played for the Rockets for a season only.

He played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers from 2019 to 2021 and South East Melbourne Phoenix from 2021 to 2022. Currently, he is associated with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Wang Zhizhi is the first Chinese player to be drafted in the NBA. Wang got drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA draft in 1999.

The 7-foot player had an early CBA career with the Bayi Rockets in 1994. Wang won the CBA MVP award in 1998 and 1999. He also led the Bayi Rockets to CBA titles in 1998 and 2000.

He played as a center for the Dallas Mavericks from 2001 to 2002 where he was able to make an averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

Later the Asian NBA basketball player was transferred to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2002 for a season. He also played with the Miami Heat for two seasons from 2003 to 2005 where his total games played were 34 with an average of 2.5 PPG.

In 2006 he returned to China and joined Bayi Rockets and played with them till his retirement in 2015.

Wang received a role as an assistant coach for the Rockers from 2015 to 2018 and later took over as a head coach prior to the 2018–19 season.

Yi Jianlian is one of the Asian basketball players with a height of 7 feet. Jianlian was born on October 27, 1984.

His parent did not want him to pursue a sports career, but due to the encouragement of the school's basketball coach, he began his career as an athlete. He competed in the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey in 2002.

He began his professional career by joining the Guangdong Southern Tigers in 2002 and playing with them until 2007. For three seasons, he led Guangdong to the CBA championship and was awarded the CBA finals' Most Valuable Player honor in 2006.

Yi was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 6th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft. He is the first Asian NBA player to be drafted in the NBA. He played five seasons in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards from 2007 to 2011.

The Chinese player returned to the CBA in 2011 and rejoined the Guangdong Southern Tigers. He helped the team win two more CBA titles in 2013 and 2019. He was named the CBA Finals MVP in both of those seasons.

Mengke Bateer is a center playing Chinese Inner Mongolian player. Mengke stands at the height of 6 feet 11 inches.

He made his debut for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) from 1997 to 2002. At the age of 18 years, he had already played in the 1994 Asian Games.

Although he was undrafted in the NBA in 1997, he still got to play with the e Denver Nuggets. He played 25 games in a season and also became the first-ever chinses player to start an NBA game.

Mengke was later traded to the San Antonio Spurs from 2002 to 2003. During his season with Spurs, he became the first Chinese player to win an NBA championship.

In the 2003-04 season, Bateer signed with the Toronto Raptors but was waived to the Orlando Magic. In October 2004, the New York Knicks signed Mengke for the 2004-05 season.

Bateer returned to the CBA in mid-February 2005 and played for the Beijing Ducks. He then played for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Sichuan Blue Whales till 2013.

He took his retirement in the summer of 2014.