NBA Rumors: Here Are The Players Who Got Shorter When The League Forced Teams To List Accurate Heights

Draymond Green just lost two inches. Joel Embiid is no longer a 7-footer.

The heights, they are a-changin’.

This offseason, the NBA mandated that all teams take accurate readings of player heights and list their actual ages, ending the long-held practice of teams listing players taller than their actual height. Marc Stein of the New York Times tweeted about the change last month, noting that the league had notified all teams that they must certify and submit to the league the precise height and age for every player on their rosters.

Those results are now in. As teams have been certifying heights of players, a number of them have lost an inch (or three, in the case of Marvin Bagley). Playmaker has tracked all of the players whose heights changed, with some notable players on the list.

Bagley had been listed as 6 feet, 11 inches, but his real height has been revealed to be 6 feet, 8 inches. Zion Williamson was certified to be 6 feet, 6 inches — one inch shorter than he had been listed at Duke.

There was even one who gained an inch — former NBA MVP Kevin Durant. It’s not clear why Durant would want to be listed shorter than his actual height, but going forward the rest of the league will know that Durant is actually a bit closer to being a 7-footer.

Playmaker compiled some other notable players, which include:

• Isaiah Thomas: Originally listed at 5 feet, 9 inches — actual height 5 feet, 8 inches.
• Draymond Green: Originally listed at 6 feet, 7 inches — actual height 6 feet, 7 inches.
• Dwight Howard: Originally listed at 6 feet, 11 inches — actual height 6 feet, 9 inches.
• Kevin Durant: Originally listed at 6 feet, 9 inches — actual height 6 feet, 10 inches.
• Joel Embiid: Originally listed at 7 feet — actual height 6 feet, 11 inches.

The change actually appeared to have been sparked by a revelation last year: Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield was actually a full year older than he had been listed as by the team. Hield celebrated his birthday last year and told the team’s broadcast that he was turning 26, even though the team had been listing him as 24, turning 25. Hield said that he never lied about his age, but simply didn’t correct the team and media reports when they gave his age wrong.

There have been questions about the ages of a number of international players, especially those from countries where birth certificate records may be more lax. This has been the case in baseball for many years, even prompting the MLB to open offices in the Dominican Republic to better keep track of players there. Now, it seems it has become a bit of an issue in the NBA as well.

It’s not clear yet if any ages have changed for NBA players.