An average NBA player’s weight is around 216 lbs.
But not all positions are equally weighted; for example, point guards are the lightest of all positions with an average weight of 190 lbs, while centers are the heaviest with an average weight of 250 lbs. But recent studies revealed that the BMI of NBA players has been slowly decreasing in recent seasons. .By comparison, only 38% of NBA players today are considered obese. It’s all because of the competition factor, the sport now requires players to be more agile and lighter to adapt to the increasing competition. To know who are the exceptions, here are the top 10 heaviest NBA players ever:
Priest Lauderdale is an American Bulgarian basketball player who weighed over 325 lb with a height of 7’4″ and played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1996 NBA Draft. He played briefly in the NBA league from 1996 to 1998.
After that, he played for the Bulgarian national basketball team from 2002 to 2005.
Garth McArthur Fitzgerald Joseph was a member of the Dominican national basketball team with a weight of around 315 pounds and a height of 7’2. Joseph played only 4 games in the NBA during the 2000-01 season. He is sometimes often referred to as Shaquille O’Neal due to his overweight. Although he was one of the heaviest NBA players in the season, he played some good games at the international level. Named the NYCAC Rookie of the Year in the 1994-95 season and was inducted into the Saint Rose Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.
Robert DeShaun “Tractor” Traylor used to weigh over 300 pounds and stand 6 feet 8 inches tall. Traylor played in the NBA League for 7 years, but did not live up to expectations in the game due to his overweight. Made his NBA debut in 1998 for the Dallas Mavericks. During the 2005 offseason, he underwent surgery and then signed with the New Jersey Nets for the 2005–06 season, but failed the physical and the deal was put on hold. Robert faced many problems during his time. entire basketball career.
Kevin Jerome Duckworth was a center position player in the NBA league.
He weighed around 275 lbs and was 7 feet tall. During the 1994-95 season, this heaviest basketball player weighed 310 lbs. Duckworth has struggled to keep his weight down for some fights in his career and still has quickness in his body and high caliber strength. After his retirement in 1997, he weighed almost 350 pounds, which caused him to live an unhealthy life.
During his time in the NBA, named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and a 2-time All-Star.
Thomas Thaddeus Hamilton had never played basketball before the 1995-96 NBA season.
During his studies, he weighed over 330 pounds with a height of 7’2. He spent most of his time on both the injury and suspension lists. When he appeared in his first NBA game, his weight was over 360 pounds, which he has taken off the suspended list. He was fit and played for the Boston Celtics in about 11 games and scored 25 points.
Michael Damien Sweetney when he came out of university after his studies in the year 2003, weighed around 260 pounds. In the same year he entered the NBA League for the New York Knicks. Elected into the NBA League in 2003 and because his weight issues, did not appear in a single game from 2007 to 2009. In 2008, he weighed more than 400 pounds and was perhaps the heaviest player in NBA history at the time. Despite the weight, struggled and fought to play in the matches.
He became an assistant coach in 2019 and currently the head coach of the Girl’s Varsity basketball team.
Gursimran “Sim” Bhullar is the first NBA player of Indian descent and the 6th tallest player in NBA history.
Bhullar has a massive weight of 360 lb.
Although he is bigger and looks similar, he impressed people with good performances in the matches.
In 2014, he entered the NBA draft and later went undrafted.
Signed for the Sacramento Kings to play in the NBA Summer League.
Eddy Anthony Curry Jr. who weighed more than 350 pounds before he turned 30. In 2002, the Chicago Bulls drafted Curry, believing that he might have health problems due to his weight. His ability to play the game has decreased over time due to his weight. At the time, he was the heaviest NBA player of all time, and some of the coaches advised him to focus only on losing weight. His best season in the league was with the New York Knicks averaging 19.5 points and seven rebounds in 81 starts. Also led the league in field goal percentage in the 2002-03 season and was part of the 2012 NBA Championship
2. Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille Rashaun “Shaq” O’Neal had played for over 19 years for 6 teams in the NBA League.
Weighed 325 pounds with a height of 7 feet known as the tallest player ever.
Since his childhood he was tall and at the age of 13 he was 6’6. One of three players to win Finals MVP, NBA MVP and All-Star MVP in the same year. His records include 14 All-NBA team selections, 15 All-Star game selections, MVP Award, 3 Finals MVP Awards and 3 NBA All-Defensive team selections. O’Neal was named to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
With a height of 6’9″ and an average season weight of up to 300 pounds, Oliver Miller’s “The Big O” was the heaviest player in the NBA ever. Miller had played in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Suns, Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings teams for over 8 years. However, he was notorious for his problems with his weight.
He was officially listed at 270 pounds at the beginning of his career, but he ballooned to 380 pounds during the later years of his NBA career, which severely reduced his mobility and stamina. In 2016, he was inducted into the Sports Hall of Honor at the University of Arkansas and selected as an SEC Basketball Legend in 2017.