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The heights of NBA players are a surprisingly interesting topic. For as many years as the internet has been around, NBA fans have discussed the idea that some players choose to lie about their height, for whatever reason. From Kevin Durant trying to convince us that he’s 6’9” and not 7’0”, to Kemba Walker trying his hardest to make us ignore the fact that he’s closer to Isaiah Thomas’ height than the 6’0” he is listed at—lying about height is a shockingly common NBA phenomena.
But this may no longer be the case going forward. The NBA will now require teams to submit the height and age of all players prior during training camp.
NBA teams were notified this week that they must certify and submit the precise height and age for every player within the first week of training camp, league sources tell @NYTSports
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
This appears to be a direct response to the aforementioned types of inaccurate listings that teams have done for years. The measurements for each player’s height will be taken without shoes for maximum accuracy. They will also not be taking the weight of players, due to unreliability of it remaining the same throughout an entire season.
Even though the league clearly has a problem with how height listings have been treated, the age side of the equation may have been the true driving factor of this decision.
Among the motivations for this new policy, sources say, is the fact that Buddy Hield's age was found to be recorded incorrectly in 2018 ... as covered in this @BenHoffmanNYT story: https://t.co/tlHpU0Aw5x
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
While Buddy Hield’s age did make for an undeniably hilarious story at the time, it is easy to see why the league would be strongly opposed to something like this happening ever again. A player’s age plays a huge part in contract negotiations. If all 30 teams do not have the same information about a player, that gives the one team that does know this an inherent advantage when free agency rolls around.
Unless Derrick White is secretly 26, this doesn’t appear to be something that will have too much of an effect on the Spurs. But the height portion may prove to be interesting. There could very well be multiple players who end up being taller or shorter than they have been listed at prior. (Looking at you, Patty Mills.)
Which players do you think will have a different height than expected? Do you think any of the young guys are secretly 35 years old with a really good skin care routine? Will they let Lonnie Walker IV list himself at 6’9” with his hair? We’ll soon find out.