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Former 7-Foot-6 Boston Celtics Center Tacko Fall Looks Like Prime Wilt Chamberlain Now That He’s Playing In China

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When Tacko Fall first burst onto the scene at the University Of Central Florida, basketball fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The Senegal native stands at 7-foot-6-inches tall and at nearly 300 pounds, he was a complete and utter force on the court.

Fall was never overly skilled offensively, but his incredible height and length earned him a reputation as one of the best defenders in college basketball. He earned AAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017 and later signed as an undrafted free agent with the Boston Celtics in 2018.

Unfortunately, the oft-misunderstood big man never really put everything together in the NBA. He played two seasons with the Celtics and a combined 16 games. He served mostly as a backup center in that time, averaging 7.2 minutes per game in year two.

Fall then signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season. He made a number of GLeague appearances before joining the Cavaliers. Fall then made his first career start, ironically, against the Celtics. The Cavs lost the game 111-101. But Fall snagged a career-high 10 rebounds.

But that’s where his NBA run seems to have ended. Fall had no NBA suitors in the offseason. So he instead opted to head overseas, which it turns out was a fantastic career choice.

Tacko Fall Looks Like Prime Wilt Combined With Prime Kareem While Playing In China

Fall signed a one-year deal with the Xinjiang Flyers Tigers on Aug. 24, 2022 and he hasn’t looked back. Through 14 games, he’s averaging 14.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. But it’s his highlight reel that’s perhaps most impressive.

The one-minute clip shows Fall leading the fast break, swatting shots and stepping into passing lanes. It’s a veritable cornucopia of incredible basketball skills, and fans love it.

While it may seem like a bad look for the Chinese Basketball Association, it just goes to show a pair of things. The first is that the skill level in the NBA is outrageous. The second, meanwhile, is that there aren’t a ton of highly coordinated 7-foot-6 people out there.

Hopefully, Fall can use this experience as a way back into the NBA should he so choose.