Biggest NBA Hand Sizes: The Largest Hands in the NBA

In sports, winning comes down to strategy and skill. But, often, the players’ physical advantages can play a big role in the outcome of a game and their success in the sport.

For basketball players, height is an important factor, and so is having big hands.

So, who are the players with the biggest NBA hand sizes?

Let’s find out.

Biggest NBA Hand Sizes

Here’s our list of the top 15 NBA players with the biggest hands:

Boban Marjanovic

Boban Marjanovic Hand size: 10.75/12 inches (estimate)
Height: 7’3” (2.21m)
Weight: 290lb (132kg)
Position: Centre
Status: Active (Houston Rockets)

The Serbian basketball player, who currently plays for the Houston Rockets, has the biggest hands in the NBA.

Unfortunately, there are no official numbers for Boban Marjanovic hand size, but his hands are believed to be somewhere in the 12-12.25-inch range, which isn’t far from the Guinness World Record.

If you want to see how his hands compare to those of basketball players and some funny edits, check out the subreddit ‘Boban holding things.’

Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq Hand size: 10.25/12 inches (estimate)
Height: 7’1” (2.16m)
Weight: 325lb (147kg)
Position: Centre
Status: Retired (Sports analyst)

Shaquille O’Neal rarely needs an introduction.

The former heaviest NBA player, who’s now a sports analyst, spent a total of 19 years in the NBA with six teams. He boasts numerous accolades, including being a four-time NBA champion, and is considered one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA.

Like Marjanovic, his hands have never been officially measured, but the retired basketball player gave fans a closer look and a chance to make their own calculations about Shaq hand size when he put his hand side by side with Kawhi Leonard’s.

Related: How many brands does Shaq own?

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokoumpo Hand size: 9.85/12 inches
Height: 6’11” (2.11m)
Weight: 242lb (110kg)
Position: Power Forward
Status: Active (Milwaukee Bucks)

The ‘Greek Freak’ is currently one of the most dominant players in the NBA and one of the basketball players with the biggest shoe endorsement deals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo hand size is almost 10% longer and 20% wider than that of the average player in the league.

In addition to his hand size and country of origin, Antetokounpo earned his nickname thanks to his ball-handling skills, strength, size, and speed. He is one of the few players (a list that features LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in the history of the league to win two MVPs before turning 26.

Related: Best NBA Young Players

Greg Smith

Greg Smith Hand size: 9.8/12 inches
Height: 6’10” (2.02m)
Weight: 250lb (113kg)
Position: Centre
Status: Active (Free agent)

With a hand width of 12 inches and a hand length of 9.8 inches, Gregory Smith has exceptionally large mitts for his height.

Smith stands at 6 feet and 10 inches tall, but he has the same hand width as the world’s tallest living man, Turkish farmer Sultan Kosen, who is roughly a foot and a half taller than him.

His hands’ length, on the other hand, is the same as that of Shaq and Marjanovic, who are both over 7 feet tall.

Statistically, his hands are 9% longer and 21% wider than players of his height.

Connie Hawkins

Connie Hawkins Hand size: 10.5/11 inches
Height: 6’8” (2.03m)
Weight: 210lb (95kg)
Position: Small Forward, Power Forward, and Centre
Status: Deceased

Connie Hawkins, aka ‘The Hawk’, played in the NBA for only seven seasons (due to knee problems), but he managed to accomplish a lot in that short amount of time. He was named to the All-NBA First Team in one season and was an All-Star for three consecutive years.

His performance in the ABL, ABA, and NBA eventually helped him get inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.

Hawkins, who was the same height as LeBron James, had hands that were as big as the tallest player in the league today, Tacko Fall.

Noah Vonleh

Noah Vonleh Hand size: 9.75/11.75 inches
Height: 6’10” (2.08m)
Weight: 257lb (117kg)
Position: Forwards
Status: Active (Boston Celtics)

At 6 feet 9 inches tall, the average for Vonleh’s height is a hand width and length of roughly 9.7 inches and 9 inches, respectively.

The Boston Celtics forward, who joined the team this season, holds the record for the widest and longest hand measurements in the 2014 Draft Combine and is the only player on this list who has a 2-inch difference between their hand length and hand width.

Related: NBA’s Biggest Draft Busts

Julius Erving

Julius Erving Hand size: 9.5/11.75 inches (estimated)
Height: 6’7” (2.01m)
Weight: 210lb (95kg)
Position: Small Forward
Status: Retired

One of the most notable NBA players of the 70s, Julius Erving, better known as ‘Dr. J,’ was well-known for having big hands and being one of the greatest dunkers in NBA history.

There was a lot of speculation about his hand size since the NBA did not measure players’ hands at that time until he compared his hand to that of Noah Vonleh.

The pictures show that their hands are quite similar in size, which is impressive, given that Dr. J is shorter than Noah Vonleh at just 6 feet 7 inches tall.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan Hand size: 9.75/11.375 inches
Height: 6’6” (1.98m)
Weight: 198lb (89kg)
Position: Shooting Guard and Small Forward
Status: Retired

The GOAT, Michael Jordan, had some of the most peculiar measurements that the world of NBA has seen in a player and has produced some memorable famous basketball moments.

He is one of the few NBA players whose parents were significantly shorter and he also wore size 13, which is small for someone who was 6 feet and 6 inches tall.

Michael Jordan hand size, on the other hand, was considerably large, measuring at 11.4 inches in width and .975 inches in length. His hands were also larger than that of most NBA players taller than him, including Wilt Chamberlain, Bol Bol, Rudy Gobert, and Steven Adams.

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard Hand size: 9.75/11.25 inches
Height: 6’7″ (2.01m)
Weight: 225lb (102kg)
Position: Small Forward
Team: Los Angeles Clippers

According to his mother, Kawhi Leonard has had ‘oversized’ hands since he was a baby.

Nicknamed ‘The Claw’ or ‘The Klaw’ for his ball-hawking skills, Leonard has earned seven All-Defensive Team selections, won Defensive Player of the Year honours, and is a five-time All-Star.

The Clippers’ forward hands were so bigger than that of his classmates and teammates that he had to special order gloves when he played football for his school.

Now, standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall, Leonard has an 11.25-inch hand span and a hand length of 9.75 inches, which is way beyond the average at his height.

Kawhi now played for one of the NBA teams that has the richest sports team owners in the world.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain Hand size: 9.5/11.5 inches
Height: 7’1” (2.16m)
Weight: 275lb (124kg)
Position: Centre
Status: Deceased

Wilt Chamberlain, aka ‘The Big Dipper,’ spent a total of 14 years in the NBA and is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time.

The NBA legend was a giant who stood at 7 feet 1 inch tall.

Although his 9.5-inch hand length and 11.5-inch hand span are not too far from the average NBA player at his height, they’re noticeably larger than that of Karim Abdul Jabber, who is slightly taller than Chamberlain.

Royce White

Royce White Hand size: 9.5/11.5 inches
Height: 6’8” (2.03m)
Weight: 260lb (118kg)
Position: Power forward
Status: Active (BIG3 League)

Royce White, who had a brief tenure with the NBA, became known in the league for refusing to fly with his team due to his fear of flying.

When it came to his attributes as a basketball player, White seemingly had everything that he needed to succeed in the league: a tall figure, a point-forward skill set, and big hands.

He has a hand length of 9.5 inches and a span of 11.5 inches, which is 1.8 inches wider than the average 6 feet 8 inches tall NBA player, and had the widest hand at the Draft Combine in 2012.

For comparison, he has the same hand measurements as 7 feet 1 inch tall Wilt Chamberlain.

Related: Hottest NBA players

Wayne Embry

Wayne Embry Hand size: 9.25/11.75 inches (estimate)
Height: 6’8” (2.03m)
Weight: 240lb (108kg)
Position: Centre
Status: Retired

Embry, a basketball icon from the 60s and the first African-American general manager and team president in NBA history, played in the league at a time when the league didn’t measure players’ hands.

Although there are no official measurements, Wayne Emery has compared his hands to that of Noah Vonhel at the 2014 NBA Draft combine, which allowed fans to do the rest of the guesswork.

Based on the snaps and Vonleh’s hand measurements, Embry’s hands are an estimated 11.75 inches in width and 9.25 in length. That’s far bigger than that of LeBron James’ hands, who shares the same height with Embry.

Related: How many people watch the NBA?

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor Hand size: 9.75/11.0 inches (estimate)
Height: 6’5” (1.96m)
Weight: 225lb (102kg)
Position: Small Forward
Status: Deceased

With 22 years as a general manager of the Clippers and an NBA Executive of the Year Award under his belt, Baylor was a legend in the NBA world.

As a basketball player, he was a strong rebounder, a gifted shooter, and was best known for his trademark hanging jump shot.

Although there’s no official data on his hand size, he has compared his hand with Michael Jordan’s handprint. Although he stood at 6 feet and 5 inches tall, his hands were almost the same size as Jordan’s.

Jahlil Okafor

Jahlil Okafor Hand size: 9.5/11.25 inches (estimate)
Height: 6’10” (2.08m)
Weight: 270lb (122kg)
Position: Centre-forward
Status: Zhejiang Lions

At 6 feet 11 inches tall, Jahlil Okafor can hold 13 stacked regulation tennis balls with one hand; That is seven more than the average American.

Although he never officially measured his hand size, it is believed that it’s in the same ballpark as Embry Wayne. Needless to say, his hands are unusually large for his height.

Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo Hand size: 9.5/10 inches
Height: 6’1″ (1.85m)
Weight: 180lb (82kg)
Position: Point Guard
Status: Active (Cleveland Cavaliers)

As a top point guard in the NBA, and plays for one of the most valuable sports teams in the world, the LA Lakers.

He is only 6 feet 1 inch tall, but his wingspan is an incredible 6 feet 9 inches, which gives him an ape index of +8 inches. Rajon Rondo hands are the biggest of any point guard in the NBA and are far above the average for his height.

For comparison, Wilt Chamberlain is a foot taller than Rondo but has the same hand length.

How Is Hand Size Measured in the NBA?

The National Basketball Association started measuring the hand sizes of rookies at the 2010 Combine.

The league measures hand length from the bottom of the palm to the tip of the middle finger and hand width from the top of the pinky finger to the top of the thumb.

When measuring the width of their hand, players spread their fingers as wide as possible.

The average hand length and width for men are around seven and a half inches and eight and a half inches, respectively. It is incredibly rare for anyone in the NBA or other basketball leagues to have a hand length of 10+inches or a hand width of 12 inches.

Having an equal hand length and hand span is quite common in the NBA, but having a difference of 2 inches or more between one’s hand span and length is unusual.

Bottom Line

Having the biggest NBA hand sizes can definitely be an advantage in the game, as it allows players to have better ball control.

Some of the best NBA players in the history of the sport, like Shaq and Michael Jordan, have/had unusually large hands that have helped them win matches.

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