AARON SANDILANDS – 6’11”

Former professional footballer, Aaron Sandilands, who played Australian rules football for the Fremantle Football Club in the AFL, was a huge man at 6 feet and 11 inches. Anyone who knows about Australian football will likewise know that the sport is absolutely brutal—unlike in American football, Aussie players don’t have the benefit of using padding or helmets when they play the game. It is also, to a huge degree, a full-contact sport, which means that Sandilands, who was one of the biggest players to ever play, must have elicited more than a few scares from the competition.

ALEKSEY KAZAKOV – 7’2″

If someone said there should be a height limit in professional volleyball, we would be bobbing our heads in agreement. Height, after all, gives a clear advantage when playing volleyball. The standard height of the volleyball net is 7 feet and 11 inches, and tall people, with their frame and wingspan, will clearly require less effort to be smashing the ball over it. Kazakov is 7 feet and 2 inches, and, to his credit, looks like he’s got a wingspan that’s almost as long as his height, which means he doesn’t even need to jump to block an oncoming spike. Totally unfair if you ask us!

MOHAMMAD IRFAN – 7’1″

Pakistani professional cricket player Mohammad Irfan, who is reportedly the tallest player to play what is referred to in the cricketing world as first-class and international cricket, stands at 7 feet and 1 inch tall. There is another player, Muhammad Mudassar, who’s in Pakistan’s cricket developing program who is taller than Irfan by 3 inches and will snag the distinction of the tallest player once he goes professional, but until then, Irfan is the tallest. And apparently, height matters in a game of cricket, too—especially for bowlers, which is Irfan’s position. Irfan’s height, to a huge degree, helps him generate more pace and bounce as he bowls, which gives him more than just a discernible advantage.

NIKOLAI VALUEV – 7FT

Former professional boxer Nikolai Valuev, at 7 feet tall, was a literal beast in the boxing ring. One of his opponents described him as a “bogeyman” inside the ring—that’s how scary the man was. Indeed, Valuev’s size and height gives him a clear advantage in boxing. The length of his arms alone allows him to pummel his opponents from a farther distance. Which is why Valuev, to his credit, has only ever had 2 losses in the ring out of the 50 fights he’s been involved with. And those two losses were by decision—because nobody could knock him out.

BRITTNEY GRINER – 6’8″

Professional basketball player and slam-dunking phenomenon Brittney Yevette Griner, whose accomplishments in women’s basketball would put her on anyone’s shortlist of best female players in the league, stands at 6 feet and 8 inches tall and is a literal beast on the court because of her size. Indeed, she’s one of the most dominant players in the WNBA, and we feel that her height, and by extension, her wingspan— which is almost as long as her height—has a lot to do with it. To Griner’s credit, she only needs to tiptoe to reach the basketball ring, which explains her enviable game statistics, particularly her blocks per game percentage.

LACINA TRAORÉ – 6’3″

Lacina Traoré, who’s been affectionately called “The Big Tree” for reasons that can only be described as obvious, is a professional football player who plays forward for the CFR Cluj. At 6 feet and 8 inches, the man is among the tallest players in professional football. At this height, players tend to move awkwardly on the football field, but not Traoré, who, to his credit, seems to be amazingly athletic and well-built for his height. And, did we mention that he’s tall? We bet that most of his opponents on the field are thanking their lucky stars that it’s European-rules football they’re playing, because if this were Australian-rules football, then well, there’ll be a lot to be scared about when standing opposite this man.

DANE DE LA ROSA – 6’7″

Former professional baseball player Dane De La Rosa, who used to play in the MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, is certainly among the biggest baseball players in history. Let’s face it: he’s not the best player out there and can’t even be considered anywhere near the level of MLB’s moderately-hailed marquee players, but he is, without a doubt, huge, and his size is quite noticeable on the field. We’re not really sure to what degree his size was able to contribute to his success as an athlete, but it’s safe to say that it didn’t as much as one would expect.

RIK SMITS – 7’4″

Younger basketball fans would have only passively heard about Rik Smits, given the slew of big men in the NBA, both past and present, who’ve been hogging all the attention. Shaq, Yao Ming, David Robinson, and more—sure, they were good, but so was Smits, albeit to a lesser degree. But there is no doubt that Rik Smits, at 7 feet and 4 inches, was a force to be reckoned with during his time. Sure, the man hasn’t been inducted to the Hall of Fame, but we feel that to be a travesty, given all the man has accomplished for the Indiana Pacers, the only team he played for throughout his career.

CHUCK NEVITT – 7’5″

Former professional basketball player Chuck Nevitt, at 7 feet and 5 inches, was one of the tallest players in the history of the National Basketball Association. He has played an astounding 12 seasons before retiring. Unfortunately, he never rose to the level of being a marquee player despite his unusual size and athleticism—he didn’t have the, how shall we say, electricity that other big men had at the time. Amusingly, he said his response to people who ask him whether he played basketball—because he’s so tall, after all—is that sometimes he did and sometimes he didn’t. This was a comical allusion to how many thought he wasn’t playing (well enough) while he was on the court.

ZDENO CHÁRA – 6’9″

Slovakian ice hockey player Zdeno Chára, at 6 feet and 9 inches tall, is reportedly the tallest player to ever play ice hockey professionally. The man is already 43 years old yet he said in a recent interview that he’s not planning to retire. And, why should he? If he still loves the game and can still play it at the level he’s required to, then more power to him. That being said, ice hockey is one sport where things can get a bit heated at times; players are literally allowed to beat each other up for a few seconds free from lawyer interference, after all, which is something we don’t quite understand but is apparently part of the sport. And if you’re as big as Chára, then you know he has at least one discernible advantage given these unusual rules.