Chet Holmgren, a projected top pick in the NBA Draft, is incredibly tall.
It’s not exactly breaking news to tell you that one of the top basketball prospects in the world is a big guy. That’s expected. You’d hope he’s got length if he is going to play in the frontcourt for a professional basketball team.
However, I feel like you’re assuming he’s your classic NBA center. So I just want to emphasize something for you. Holmgren is incredibly tall. Like, he can dwarf some of the biggest players in the history of the NBA.
Look at this photo of Holmgren standing next to 2007 MVP Dirk Nowitzki:
Dirk Nowitzki x Chet Holmgren pic.twitter.com/nJBJ12f5Sq
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 27, 2022
Nowitzki, who also won NBA Finals MVP in 2011, was listed at seven feet during his professional playing career. Holmgren didn’t measure during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, but he may be even taller than his listed height of seven feet.
Holmgren makes Nowitzki, who towered over Dallas teammates like JJ Barea, look like an average-sized individual. Even though Holmgren is wearing a hat in this photo, it is pretty clear he has a couple of inches on Dirk.
If that picture didn’t do anything for you, maybe this photo from the NBA Draft Lottery of Holmgren with 1995 MVP David Robinson might:
David Robinson (listed at 7’1) standing next to Chet Holmgren. 😳
(📸 @_Talkin_NBA) pic.twitter.com/yAhXagHFq6
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) May 18, 2022
Robinson, a two-time NBA champion, was listed at 7-foot-1 during his playing career.
Unlike the photo that shows Holmgren with Nowitzki, the picture of him with Robinson also shows him standing next to a non-NBA player for scale.
Mike Schmitz, the reporter standing next to Robinson and Holmgren who was just hired as the assistant general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, is 6-foot-2.
Height doesn’t directly translate to success in the NBA, of course. But for Holmgren, it certainly won’t hurt that he is clearly larger than legends like Nowitzki and Robinson.
