Height

At the professional level, most male participants are above 1.90 meters (6 ft 3 in) and most women are above 1.70 meters (5 ft 7 in). Guards, for whom physical coordination and ball-handling skills are of greater importance, tend to be the smallest players. Forwards in the men's professional leagues are almost all 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) or taller. Most centers are over 2.1 meters (6 ft 10.5 in) tall. The tallest players ever to play in the NBA, Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, were 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in). Currently, the tallest NBA player is Yao Ming, who stands at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).

The shortest player ever to play in the NBA is Muggsy Bogues at 1.60 meters (5 ft 3 in). Other shorter players have also experienced success at the professional level. Anthony "Spud" Webb was just 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall, but had a 42-inch (1.07 m) vertical leap, giving him significant height when jumping. Currently the shortest player in the NBA is Earl Boykins at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m).