7'9" "Big Naija" Could Be the TALLEST Basketball Player EVER!

Height has always been an advantage for a basketball player. Although most offenses are now built around guards, powering players are still among the league's brightest stars. So join me as I take you through 7'9 Big Naya is the tallest basketball player ever. Number 12. Who is the Big Naya? A teenage prodigy nicknamed Big Naya is shattering basketball records and making headlines around the world. In the world of the internet and viral videos of people showing their talents, people can be just a video away from fame. This is the case of Nigerian Abidon Adegoke, a 2.36m tall man who has attracted interest from the basketball elite thanks to a training session video recorded in Dubai where the man is seen blocking shots without even having to jump. Adegoke, who refers to himself as the Big Naya, is two inches taller than the tallest ever basketball player to play in the NBA, and he's caught the attention of scouts and league legends, including the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. Interestingly, the video was also shared by Shaq, and it means Adegoke's life will never be the same again. Not surprisingly, his hoop skills have been completely overshadowed by the sheer terror of his height. He shared a video on Instagram showing him dunking easily with both feet on the ground, looking like an optical illusion next to a teammate claimed to measure 5'6". The teammate looks like an infant compared to the might of Adegoke. He is a pure cheat code. The video of Adegoke in the gym has attracted even more interest across American news websites. However, the interest has come hand in hand with skepticism and intrigue Adegoke claims to be a teenager, but that's where the mystery starts. Now, according to the man himself, he's 18 years old, but some information has led others to believe that the man is in fact 21 years old. Adegoke has repeatedly joked about the interest in his age, but has never been able to prove in public that he is 18, as has been claimed. In 2016, a report from Nigeria claimed that Adegoke was already 17 years old and was 2.18 meters tall at the time. The report claims he was a student of a sports high school academy in Lagos and needed help to fund his tuition after leaving school for a brief period. However, Adegoke has reportedly continued to claim he's still a teenager, having played in the Impact Elite Youth League in Dubai this year. He's still training with the Impact Sports UAE system and his next career move remains unclear. If he does make it to play professional basketball in the U.S., he will become the joint record holder with China's Sun Mingming, who ended up playing for the Harlem Grove Shotters. While he has been overlooked by American scouts thus far, Adegoke would create a new record as the tallest player to ever play in the NBA should he prove the doubters wrong and end up in the biggest basketball league on the planet. Yao Ming and Manute Bull currently share the record for the highest players ever seen in the NBA at 7'6". Adegoke would easily shatter that. Number 10. Big Naya is not the only one around. As tall as Adegoke might seem, he's not the only baller who has created a buzz around his height. Some of the notable and amongst the tallest professional basketball players include Sun Mingming, Ri Myunghoon, Yasutaka Okame, Neil Fingleton, Paul Sturgis, Kenny George, George Murasan, and Manute Bull. Now, some of these players have achieved worldwide fame while others were hardly known to anybody. Some had long and fruitful careers while others hardly played. Number 9. Suleyman Ali Nashni So, Suleyman was one of 17 individuals in medical history to reach or surpass 8 feet in height. He was a Libyan basketball player and actor and in 1960, he successfully underwent surgery to correct his abnormal growth. Number 8. Aleksandr Syznikov So, Aleksandr was a Soviet basketball player. Born in the city of Zaporizhia in the Ukrainian SSR, he was measured by Guinness World Records at 2.39 meters and was named the world's tallest man in 1991. He was said to have grown since this measurement was taken although age reduced his standing height considerably. Because of his enormous growth, his mobility was increasingly impaired. Syznikov played professionally for Spartak Leningrad from 1976 to 1978 and for Stroitel Kibyshev from 79 to 86. He was also a member of the Soviet national team and appeared on its behalf in 12 games. Number 7. Mingming Sun Sun is a Chinese basketball player and it has been argued that he is the tallest player to ever play professional basketball. Although the Guinness World Records indicates that the Libyan Ali Suleyman Nashni was taller. Mingming stands 2.36 meters and weighs around 370 pounds. He wears size 20 shoes and also makes occasional appearances as an actor. Number 6. Ri Yong-hun. So Ri, also known as Michael Ri after his favorite basketball player Michael Jordan, is a former North Korean basketball player. He played the center position for the national basketball team with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Once proclaimed to be the tallest living human being in the world, he stands seven foot eight and a half inches or 2.35 meters tall and was planned to play in the NBA in the 1990s. Number 5. Yasutaka Okuyama. So Yasutaka was the tallest basketball player drafted in the NBA's history. This seven foot eight center was selected by the Golden State Warriors as the 10th pick of the eighth round of the 1981 draft, although he did not sign with them. Okuyama practiced judo at junior high school and high school and obtained a second degree black belt. He started playing basketball when he was 18 at Osaka University of Commerce. He attended the University of Portland but never played for their basketball program as he was a project. After graduation, he joined the basketball club of Metal Industries, Sunitomo, and he represented Japan between 1979 and 86 before retiring in 1996. Number 4. Neil Fingalton. So Neil Fingalton is an English actor and former basketball player. He's also the tallest British-born man at 232.6 centimeters in height and among the 25 tallest men in the world. His title has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records in the summer of 2007. Fingalton won a basketball scholarship to the U.S. first playing at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, later at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. In August 2000, Fingalton had back surgery and then earned a medical red shirt from North Carolina. Fingalton played only one game with North Carolina, then transferred to Holy Cross in 2002. Fingalton debuted professionally in the 04-05 season with the Boston Frenzy of the ABA. The Frenzy waived Fingalton in December 04. In the 05 NBA Development League draft, Austin Toro selected Fingalton as the 8th pick in the 5th round and in December 05, Fingalton started playing with the English Basketball League, Tees Valley Mohawks. In November 06, Fingalton signed with Spanish team CB El Escasas and later with Ciudad Real. After an injury forced him to retire in 07, he returned to his home city of Durham to pursue a career in show business. Number 3. Paul Sturgis So, Paul Sturgis is an English professional basketball player who was officially measured by Guinness Book of World Records in November 2011 at 2.31 meters and 325 pounds. Sturgis was the tallest ever college basketball player in the U.S. and is the tallest professional basketball player in the world. Paul, tiny Sturgis, was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters in August 2011 and is the tallest ever to play for the team. Number 2. Kenny George Kenneth George Jr., who measures between 2.31 meters and 2.36 meters, was the tallest basketball player in the U.S. during the two years he played for his college team, University of North Carolina at Asheville, and is one of the tallest players in basketball history. He averaged 12.4 points and seven rebounds for the Bulldogs in his last season. The Big South's Defensive Player of the Year, he led them to a school-record 23 wins. George's height and weight, who was listed at 360 pounds last season and wore size 26 shoes, is the result of an overactive pituitary gland. George, who stands 7'9 with shoes, could dunk flat-footed and towered over most players, but he had two major knee injuries, among other problems, and missed nearly three full seasons. Number 1. George Mirosan George Mirosan, also known as Big Ghita or George, is a retired Romanian professional basketball player. At 2.31 meters, he's one of the tallest players in NBA history. Mirosan was born in the countryside of Romania and he played competitive basketball at Cluj University. He played professionally in the French League with Paul Rotets during the 1992-1993 season and was an instant hit with his fans. The NBA took interest in him and he was selected by the Washington Bullets in the 1993 NBA Draft. So, what do you think? Do you think Big Naya could make it to the NBA? Let me know in the comments below. Make sure to subscribe and you like us. I'm going to see you on the channel next time. Until then, it's goodbye.