NBA players are, relatively speaking, giants. What is considered “small” in the league is considered “above average,” if not “pretty darn tall” for normal humans. Steve Nash looked tiny on the court, considered undersized for his position. He was 6-foot-3. Draft hopefuls can see their stock rise or fall depending on their measurements. A fraction of an inch shorter than their reported height will sink a lottery pick to a late-first rounder, while that same measurement the other way can skyrocket a player up from the ranks of the unknown to a guaranteed first-round contract. Even as the league goes small, it is still a relative term. Small means putting a 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-10 person at the five, which is still big to everyone else.
Although, it is not big to every person. It’s certainly not big to Sultan Kösen, who at 8-foot-3 is the world’s tallest man. Look at him here standing next to 6-foot-11 Enes Kanter.
https://twitter.com/MPetchenikWSB/status/636940876216975364/photo/1
Kanter’s face is one of uncertainty and bewilderment. Oh, sure, there’s a hint of a smile, but that smile is only a shield for his discomfort. Kanter has gone most of his life being the tallest, or at least one of the tallest men, in the room. And here comes this other guy from Turkey, this man who is not a professional athlete because being as tall as he is means all sort of bone and body issues, who just towers over him completely. In this moment, Kanter finally feels how the rest of the world feels when they stand next to an NBA player.
(Via Mike Petchenik)
