An average NBA player’s weight is around 216 lbs
But not all positions are distributed equally in terms of weight; for instance, 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 lbsBut recent studies revealed that over the last few seasons, the BMI of NBA players is slowly decliningComparatively, just 38% of NBA players today are considered overweightIt’s all because of the competitive factor, the sport now demands players to be more agile and lighter to adapt to the growing competitionTo know who are the exceptions, here are the top 10 heaviest NBA players ever:
Priest Lauderdale is an American Bulgarian basketball athlete who weighed over 325 lb with a height of 7’4” and played for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1996 NBA DraftHe played for a short time 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 basketball national team weighing around 315 pounds and height of 7’2”Joseph only played 4 matches in the NBA league during the 2000-01 seasonSometimes he is often referred compared to as Shaquille O’Neal because of his excess weightEven though he was one of the heaviest NBA players in the season, he played some good matches at the international levelNamed the NYCAC Rookie of the Year during the 1994-95 season and inducted into the Saint Rose Athletics Hall of Fame in the year 2017
Robert DeShaun “Tractor” Traylor used to weigh over 300 pounds and height of 6 feet 8 inchesTraylor played in the NBA League for 7 years but did not live up to the expectations in the game due to his overweightMade his debut in the NBA league in the year 1998 for Dallas MavericksDuring the 2005 offseason, he had surgery and then signed for New Jersey Nets in the 2005-06 season but failed in the physical examination, and the deal was stoppedRobert faced many problems during his entire Basketball career
Kevin Jerome Duckworth was a center position player in the NBA league
He weighed around 275 lb and had a height of 7 feetDuring the 1994-95 season, this heaviest basketball player weighed 310 lbsDuckworth has struggled to keep his weight down during some matches in his career and still has quickness in his body and high-caliber strengthAfter his retirement in the year 1997, weighed nearly 350 pounds which made him lead an unhealthy life
During his play in the NBA, named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and 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 the time on both the injury and suspension listsWhen he appeared in his first NBA game, his weight was over 360 pounds which he has taken off the suspended listHe was fit and played for Boston Celtics for around 11 games scoring 25 points
Michael Damien Sweetney when came out of the University after his studies in the year 2003, was around 260 pounds weightIn the same year, he made it into the NBA League for New York KnicksSelected into the NBA League in 2003 and due to his weight issues, did not appear in a single match from 2007 to 2009By 2008, he weighed more than 400 pounds and was perhaps the heaviest player in NBA history at that timeDespite his weight, struggled and fought to play in the matches
He became an Assistant coach in 2019 and presently, head coach of the Girl’s Varsity basketball team
Gursimran “Sim” Bhullar is the first player to play in the NBA league of Indian descent and the 6th tallest player in the history of the NBA
Bhullar has a massive weight of 360 lb
Although he is bigger and looks the same, 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 NBA Summer League
Eddy Anthony Curry Jr who weighed more than 350 pounds before he turned 30 yearsIn 2002, Chicago Bulls drafted Curry and believed that he might have health issues due to his weightHis ability to play the game has decreased over time due to his weightAt that time he was the heaviest NBA player of all time and some of the coaches advised him to only focus on reducing weightHis best season in the league was with the New York Knicks with an average of 195 points and seven rebounds in 81 startsAlso, led the league in field goal percentage in the 2002-03 season and was a 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 by the age of 13 he was 6’6”One of the three players to win Finals MVP, NBA MVP, and All-Star game MVP in the same yearHis records include 14 All-NBA team selections, 15 All-Star game selections, MVP Award, 3 Finals MVP Awards, and 3 NBA All-Defensive team selectionsO’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 300lbs, Oliver Miller’s “The Big O” was the heaviest player in NBA everMiller had played in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Suns, Toronto Raptors, and Sacramento Kings teams for over 8 yearsHe was notorious for his problems with his weight, however
He was officially listed at 270 pounds at the beginning of his career, but he grew up to 380 pounds over the later years of his NBA career, seriously reducing his mobility and enduranceIn 2016, inducted into the Sports Hall of Honour at Arkansas University and selected as an SEC Basketball legend in the year 2017