In an era of positionless basketball, it's still hard to ignore the towering presence of Tacko Fall. At 7'6″, Fall made history by being the third tallest player to ever make the NBA, trailing only Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureșan who both stood at 7'7″.
Fall's basketball journey started like every highly touted recruit. He was a four-star recruit out of high school, committed to the University of Central Florida (UCF), and nearly ended his college career with a win against a stacked Duke team led by Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett in the NCAA March Madness tournament in 2019.
But since making it to the league, Fall has struggled to stay on an NBA roster.
Tacko Fall goes undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft
Despite his impressive college career, Fall went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft due to his lack of mobility and offensive limitations. However, it didn't take long for a team to swoop in and sign him. The Boston Celtics saw potential in him and signed him to an Exhibit 10 Contract that allowed him to be on their Summer League roster.
After a decent showing in five games, the Celtics officially signed him to a two-way contract which allowed him to split his time between the Celtics and their G-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws.
In his first season, Fall only appeared in seven games and averaged 3.3 PTS and 2.1 REBS while playing 4.7 minutes per game. He'd spend another season with the Celtics in the same role before he eventually moved on to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2021. Unfortunately, he was given the same role. Over three seasons, Fall appeared in only 37 NBA games, spending most of his time in the G-League where he'd get more playing time.
Tacko Fall sought new opportunities abroad
Once his two-way contract with the Cavaliers ended after the 2021-2022 season, instead of spending another season in the G-league, Fall decided to take his talents overseas. On August 24th, 2022, he signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
While the competition isn't as challenging compared to the players in the NBA, Fall showed he can produce when given minutes. In his first season in the CBA, Fall averaged a double-double, scoring 13.8 points and grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game in just 25.7 minutes per game. His shooting efficiency was also impressive, as he hit 73.1 percent of his shots.
Fall's hard work was rewarded when the Milwaukee Bucks offered him a spot on their Summer League team, but after failing to move past getting a two-way contract, Fall decided to play in China for another year, this time playing for the Nanjing Monkey Kings.
As of this writing, the last professional stint Fall had was playing in Puerto Rico with former lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional League for the 2024 season.
While Fall's NBA career may have had a rocky start, his story is far from finished. Because at the end of the day, you can't teach height, and for Fall, all he needs is one team to see his potential.
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