When a Basketball Prospect is Simply Too Large for the League

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
From a deaf kid who defied every eyes to make it to the big stage, to a 7'7 shot blocking Spider-Man who once hit six threes in a single hat. These are NBA players who you won't believe exist. And we gotta start with Sim Bullard, because this guy made history in only three games. Yeah, Sim became the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA. And by play, I mean, the guy stepped on the court for the Sacramento Kings and blotted out the sun. He was 7'5 and weighed over 360 pounds. He was basically two LeBrons who never skipped dessert stacked on top of one another.
Jesus. Dude made Shaq look regular sized. And for a brief moment, the Kings tried to build a marketing campaign around him. Didn't quite work out. But hey, Sim still got the last laugh. He made NBA history, got the bag, and never even had to jump. Respect. Now, Sim Bullard was big, but Taco Fall was a freak of nature. No, seriously, if Taco wasn't a pro baller, he'd be getting studied in a lab. For starters, he's 7'7, and when he was living on campus in UCF in Florida, the college had to adjust the facilities to suit his height.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:05)
They've also done some things like in their weight room and training facility, they've had to take out ceiling tiles.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:10)
So he could-

**SPEAKER_2** (1:11)
Because when he does the jump drills and everything, his hands hit the ceiling.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:14)
I mean, the neck pain alone could have been a career ender, but that's not all. Taco also has an 8'2 wingspan and a size 22 shoe. And back in 2020, he requested that top shoe designer, Seriado, custom make him a pair.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:27)
I got a request.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:28)
I don't know if you're going to be able to do it or not.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:29)
Let me hear it. Nobody's ever asked me for this in the store.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:31)
I bet you. Size 22

**SPEAKER_4** (1:33)
You have anything in a size 22

**SPEAKER_2** (1:34)
That's wild.

**Ronald Jones** (1:35)
I don't know. I don't have anything near that, honestly.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:37)
Yeah, that ain't a standard size shot. But luckily, Seriado got the job done.

**Ronald Jones** (1:43)
Yeah, that's tough, man, that's tough.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:46)
Damn, those things are huge. Taco's got the giant drip, but we got to take things down a notch on the high scale, because Tyrone Bogues, aka Muggsy, is the short king goat. Yeah, you know the way being tall is pretty major when it comes to going pro. Well, nobody told Muggsy because this man got capped at 5'3, and it still didn't stop him. See, at that height, life was already going to be a challenge. But this dude decided to increase the difficulty by going into basketball. And in 1987, he lined up for the Washington Bullets and became the shortest player in NBA history.
Hey, if I didn't know better, I'd say this was AI., no pun intended. But Muggsy was actually a bit of a cheat code. He played 14 seasons, and amongst all the height, he was quicker and more agile than anyone. And you know what's really wild? He was teammates with Manute Bowe, the tallest player ever in the NBA. Yeah, we'll talk more about Manute later. But picture this, a 5'3 guy and a 7'7 monster were linking up before anyone knew who The Rock and Kevin Hart were. That's insane. But so was Spud Webb, because he may not have been as short as Muggsy Bowe, but he wasn't much taller either. At 5'7, he was the third smallest player ever, and he shared the court with the players twice his size. But the thing that's so crazy about Spud was that he didn't just compete. He had everyone in sports rubbing their eyes in disbelief. See, in 1987, Spud participated in the NBA dunk contest. Yeah, a 5'7 guy taking on the big dog. It looked ridiculous. Not as ridiculous as how it looked when he got to the final, matched up against his 6'8 teammate, Dominique Wilkins, and won.
Holy smokes, the little guy's flying. Yeah, flying's cool, but so is being the human version of a chameleon, because Charlie Ward was moving mad. This guy won the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Florida State, aka College Football Royalty. But instead of pursuing a career already there for the taking, he decided he wanted to play with a round ball instead of an oval, and completely switched it up. Yeah, Charlie really said, if MJ can do it, so can I. The versatility is off the chart, but this next player could have gone straight from the court to the wrestling ring. I'm talking about Oliver Miller, because man, if this dude landed on you after a dunk, it would be good night and game over. See, Miller's the heaviest guy ever to ball, weighing in at 375 pounds. That's heavier than a Harley-Davidson Street Glide, two average NFL running backs, an American Black Bear, or three Muggsies. And here's the thing, Miller wasn't half bad either. I mean, he averaged three assists per game as a center. Not bad for a guy built like a fully stocked fridge. Oh, that was too close. Now look, there's one person who probably wouldn't hear Miller coming, and that's Lance Allred, because Lance was the first legally deaf player in the NBA. Yup, 80% hearing loss in both ears. Born with it, grew up with hearing aids, and still made it to the league. And get this, he was raised in a polygamist Mormon sect in rural Montana. So yeah, this man went from cows, colts, and communication challenges to running plays with LeBron on the cat. He couldn't always hear the coach, he couldn't always follow on court chatter, but he learned to lip read, lock in, and earn a 10-day contract in 2008, and only played a few games, but man, it meant everything. Lance Allred's story is straight up movie script stuff. Deaf baller, mental health advocate, motivational speaker, and a certified legend. But this next guy was a certified madman.