Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall (born 10 December 1995) is a Senegalese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers The Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers () is a professional basketball team based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. The team play its home games at the Hongshan Arena, which has a capacity for 3,800 spectators. The club joined the Chinese Basketball ...

of the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA). Fall was born and raised in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, Senegal. He moved to the United States at age 16 and later played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

(UCF). Fall went undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, but later signed with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

. During his two seasons in Boston, he became a fan favorite. He signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

as a free agent in 2021. At , Fall was one of the tallest NBA players and is one of the tallest living humans. At the 2019

NBA Draft Combine The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...

, his measurements set all-time NBA records for tallest height in shoes (), longest

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

(), and highest standing reach (). The NBA now lists players' heights without shoes, so Fall is listed at .

Early life

Fall was born and raised in

, Senegal. In 2011, Senegalese basketball coach Ibrahima N'Diaye, the brother of former NBA player Mamadou N'Diaye, heard from a friend about an exceptionally tall teenager he had seen playing with friends in a local street. After identifying him, they visited the 15-year-old Fall—who already stood tall—at his home and persuaded Fall's mother, Marianne Diop Sene, to allow Fall to start attending N'Diaye's basketball academy. Fall moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at age 16. He first played organized basketball in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, and trained with

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Hall of Famer

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

. He was listed as and was purportedly still growing around his senior year, making him the tallest high school basketball player in the country while he played for Jamie's House Charter and Liberty Christian Prep. Due to his height and reach, Fall was one of the most highly scouted high school basketball centers in the nation. Fall first played for

Jamie's House Charter School Jamie's House Charter School was a 6-12 state charter school in unincorporated northern Harris County, Texas.Mellon, Ericka.Texas law on charter schools has big loophole" ''Houston Chronicle''. May 12, 2010. Retrieved on May 13, 2010. History The ...

in Houston, where his team won the state championship. Fall played with ISTI all-stars summer travel team & for Each 1 Teach 1 on the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

(EYBL) circuit where he played alongside fellow class of 2015 recruits

Antonio Blakeney Antonio Davon Blakeney (born October 4, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers. High school career Born in Watertow ...

and

Ben Simmons Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was ...

. He also played in several NCAA certified events, including the NBPA Top 100 Camp in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Fall then attended Liberty Christian Preparatory School in

Tavares, Florida Tavares (, ) is a city in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Lake County. The population at the 2020 census was 19,003, and in 2019 the population was estimated to be 17,749. It is part of the Orlando&ndas ...

. As a senior in 2015, Fall averaged 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 5.1 blocks per game. Rated as a four-star and three-star recruit in the 2015 high school class and nearly forty different schools expressing interest in him, Fall committed to the

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, who officially signed him on October 28, 2014. He played with the

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I F ...

under head coach

Donnie Jones Donald Scott Jones Jr. (born July 5, 1980) is a former American football punter. He played college football for Louisiana State University and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He also played for t ...

College career

Fall played college basketball at

for

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. He faced fellow giant Senegalese center Mamadou N'Diaye (unrelated to the former NBA player of the same name), who stands at , in the tallest tip-off and match-up in US college basketball history in a game against

University of California Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

. Both men come from the same city, Dakar. By his sophomore year, after N'Diaye declared for the 2016 NBA draft, Fall became the tallest player in college basketball. During his sophomore season, Fall would make considerable improvements in his playing style. In 2017, Fall was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Fall grew to be an efficient player, ranking second nationally in field goal percentage as of January 2017. On 5 April 2017, Fall declared for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, with the possibility of returning to Central Florida still available to him before the end of the draft lottery that year. On 24 May 2017, Fall withdrew his name from consideration for the NBA draft, to return to UCF for his junior year. During his junior year, Fall injured his shoulder, causing him to only play in 16 games, totaling 351 minutes. Coming into his senior season, Fall was named to the Preseason Second Team All-AAC. During his senior season, Fall helped lead the Knights to the 2019 NCAA tournament and secured their first victory in program history with a win over

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

. In his final game, Fall recorded 15 points and six rebounds in a losing effort against

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

77–76.

Professional career

After the conclusion of his senior year, Fall was named one of 80 participants (40 representing the NBA draft hopefuls) for the NBA G League Elite Camp on May 12–14. By the end of the event, Fall later got transferred into the

as one of an additional 11 participants there. During the combine, he put up new records at the event, including height (which received comparisons to former NBA player

Manute Bol Manute Bol (; October 16, 1962 – June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American professional basketball player and political activist. Listed at or tall, Bol was tied with Gheorghe Mureșan as the tallest player in the history of the National Bask ...

), wingspan, and standing reach.

Boston Celtics (2019–2021)

Despite going undrafted in the

, Fall was signed to an Exhibit 10 Contract on June 21, 2019, by the

. Fall played for the Celtics during the 2019

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

season, scoring six points in his first game alongside four rebounds; in his second game he tallied twelve points for his first double-digit scoring game, alongside another rebound. He had one blocked shot in each of his first two games. Fall concluded his 2019 Summer League run participating in all five games with the Celtics and averaging 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and shooting a team-high 77 percent from the field. On July 25, 2019, the Celtics officially announced that they had signed Fall. On October 13, 2019, the Celtics officially announced that they had signed Fall to a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

, splitting time between the Celtics and

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

. Fall made his debut for the Celtics on October 26 during a game against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. He played for four minutes, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds, with his first points coming from a standing dunk. On December 20, Fall recorded a season-high five points, along with two rebounds and one block, in a 114–93 win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. On August 13, 2020, he logged season-highs of four rebounds and two blocks in a 90–96 loss to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. Fall led the Celtics in field goal percentage during the 2019–20 season. In the G League for the Red Claws, Fall averaged a double-double of 12.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. He earned All-Defensive Team honors, with averages of nearly three blocks per game. On November 23, 2020, Fall re-signed with the

on a

, allowing him to play for the Celtics and

in the 2020–21 season. On December 30, he made his season debut for the Celtics, recording two points, one rebound and two blocks in a 126–107 win over the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On January 15, 2021, Fall logged a season-high six points, along with five rebounds and one block, in a 124–97 blowout win over the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. On May 5, he recorded a season-high four blocks in a 132–96 blowout win over the Orlando Magic. On May 16, he grabbed a season-high eight rebounds in a 92–96 loss to the

. Despite being under a two-way contract, Fall never played in the G League during the 2020–21 season due to the Red Claws not playing due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He also led the Celtics in field goal percentage for the second season in a row.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2021–2022)

On September 27, 2021, Fall signed with the

. On October 16, his deal was converted to a two-way contract with the

Cleveland Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fra ...

. On November 11, Fall made his debut for the Charge, logging a G League career-high 23 points along with 12 rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes of play. On December 22, Fall made his first career NBA start in a 111–101 loss to the Boston Celtics, where he grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds and a season-high 4 points. On January 9, 2022, he was waived by the Cavaliers.

Cleveland Charge (2022)

On January 12, 2022, Fall was re-acquired by the

Xinjiang Flying Tigers (2022–present)

On August 24, 2022, Fall signed a one-year contract to play for the

of the

Player profile

Given his size, Fall plays the

position. His shoe size is 22 and his wingspan is and a standing reach of . He also has a max vertical leap of . Fall's hands measure at 10.5 inches in length and width. Going into the 2019 NBA draft, Fall was viewed as a great shot blocker who was relatively lacking in lane agility and three-quarter-court sprinting speed.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .786 , , — , , .333 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .6 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 0 , , 7.2 , , .724 , , — , , .333 , , 2.7 , , .2 , , .1 , , 1.1 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 11 , , 1 , , 5.4 , , .417 , , — , , .286 , , 2.1 , , .2 , , .0 , , .5 , , 1.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 37 , , 1 , , 6.2 , , .673 , , — , , .320 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .1 , , .8 , , 2.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 2 , , 0 , , 1.5 , , 1.000 , , — , , .500 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , — , , — , , — , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 1.3 , , 1.000 , , — , , .500 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, 30 , , 26 , , 17.6 , , .750 , , — , , .558 , , 5.9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 26.3 , , .715 , , .000 , , .462 , , 9.5 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.6 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 15 , , 21.9 , , .767 , , — , , .460 , , 7.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.9 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 24.9 , , .750 , , — , , .363 , , 7.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 2.6 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 115 , , 110 , , 23.0 , , .740 , , .000 , , .432 , , 7.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 2.4 , , 10.1

Personal life

Fall is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, and selected the jersey number 99 with the Celtics as a reference to the

99 Names of Allah Names of God in Islam ( ar, أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ , "''Allah's Beautiful Names''") are names attributed to God in Islam by Muslims. While some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith, th ...

. He is not the only tall member of his family; his younger brother was reportedly at age 7, while two of his uncles are , but his extreme height stands apart even among them. He maintained a 4.0

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

(GPA) in high school, while taking advanced mathematics and science classes. He became fluent in English within eight months and scored in the 95th percentile on the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times; originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, it was later called the Schol ...

. He was a

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

major at UCF and originally had aspirations of becoming an engineer for electronic companies such as

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

References

External links

*
Fox Sports New Interview Tacko's first

UCF Knights bio

NBADraft.net profile

DraftExpress.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fall, Tacko 1995 births Living people Basketball players from Dakar Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Cleveland Charge players Maine Red Claws players National Basketball Association players from Senegal Senegalese expatriate basketball people in the United States Senegalese men's basketball players Senegalese Muslims UCF Knights men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Senegalese expatriate basketball people in China Xinjiang Flying Tigers players