The NBA revealed its annual, detailed analysis on each team in the league this week, breaking down the height, weight, age and league experience of all 440 players on opening-night rosters.
Who’s the league’s tallest player? Which team has the oldest average age? What jersey numbers are the most popular? All of that data and more was compiled in the 2018-19 NBA Roster Survey.
Here are nine takeaways …
1. Each season, the league uses its findings to determine who is the “average” NBA player, with Thunder small forward Andre Roberson fitting the bill this season. The average player in the league is 26 years old, 6-foot-7, 219.05 pounds and has 4.8 seasons worth of NBA experience. Roberson, 26, is listed at 6-foot-7, 210 pounds and has played five seasons in the league. He awaits the start to his sixth season as he rehabs from patellar tendon surgery.
2. There are still two active players in the league who were born in the 1970s: Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki. Meanwhile, the youngest player in the league hadn’t been born when Michael Jordan won his sixth and final championship in 1998. Isaac Bonga of the Lakers was born in Nov. 8, 1999, meaning next year there will be an NBA active player born in 2000.
3. Another wild takeaway in the age category is that out of 440 players in the league, 418 of them are younger than 33-year-old LeBron James, who in his 16th season is still playing at an MVP level.
4. The Cavaliers were the oldest team in the NBA last season, but that changed following James’ move to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets now hold that title (28.6 years old), with the New York Knicks officially labeled the youngest team in the league (24.57).
5. The Nuggets have a roster that uniquely ranks second to last among teams with the most NBA experience (an average of 3.27 years). The Bulls have the lowest average in the league (3.13), followed by the Nuggets, Knicks (3.47), Celtics (3.53) and Magic (3.53).
6. The Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis and Clippers’ Boban Marjanovic are once again the tallest players in the league at 7-foot-3, with 5-foot-9 Nuggets point guard Isaiah Thomas being the league’s shortest player. A few names that fit the average NBA height of 6-foot-7 inches tall: DeMar DeRozan, Luka Doncic, Draymond Green, Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson. Additionally, the Nets, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Kings all sport rosters with an average height of exactly 6-foot-7.
7. Despite having the NBA’s rebounding leader in 6-foot-11 Andre Drummond, the Detroit Pistons check in as the shortest team in the league overall (6 feet, 6.27 inches). The Washington Wizards are the NBA’s tallest squad on average at 6 feet, 8.15 inches.
8. The University of Kentucky remains the top college represented on NBA rosters, with a total of 27 players hailing from the collegiate powerhouse. Duke (23), UCLA (15), Kansas (12) and North Carolina (11) round out the top 5.
9. There are 20 players who wear No. 3, the most popular jersey number worn in the NBA. Guards Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Bradley Beal, CJ. McCollum each don the digit Allen Iverson once wore. Try thinking of 16 more on your own …
And, here are a few more roster survey tidbits to chew on:
Shortest teams
- Detroit Pistons: 6 feet, 6.27 inches
- Toronto Raptors: 6 feet, 6.43 inches
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 6 feet, 6.57 inches
- LA Clippers: 6 feet, 6.6 inches
- Miami Heat: 6 feet, 6.71 inches
Tallest teams
- Washington Wizards: 6 feet, 8.15 inches
- New York Knicks: 6 feet, 7.93 inches
- Los Angeles Lakers: 6 feet, 7.86 inches
- Orlando Magic: 6 feet, 7.67 inches
- Golden State Warriors: 6 feet, 7.57 inches
Youngest teams
- New York Knicks, 24.57 years old
- Denver Nuggets, 24.72 years old
- Portland Trail Blazers, 24.78 years old
- Chicago Bulls, 24.89 years old
- Phoenix Suns, 25.10 years old
Oldest teams
- Houston Rockets, 28.6 years old
- Miami Heat, 28.45 years old
- Dallas Mavericks, 28.22 years old
- LA Clippers, 28.03 years old
- San Antonio Spurs, 27.99 years old
Least experienced NBA teams
- Chicago Bulls, 3.13 NBA years
- Denver Nuggets, 3.27 NBA years
- New York Knicks, 3.47 NBA years
- Boston Celtics, 3.53 NBA years
- Orlando Magic, 3.53 NBA years
Most experienced NBA teams
- Houston Rockets, 7.36 NBA years
- Miami Heat, 6.43 NBA years
- Washington Wizards, 6.38 NBA years
- San Antonio Spurs, 6.33 NBA years
- Cleveland Cavaliers, 6.14 NBA years
Shortest players
- Isaiah Thomas, 5-foot-9
- Frank Mason III, 5-foot-11
- D.J. Augustin, 6 feet
- J.J. Barea, 6 feet
- Isaiah Canaan, 6 feet
- Darren Collison, 6 feet
- Yogi Ferrell, 6 feet
- Patty Mills, 6 feet
- Ish Smith, 6 feet
- Fred VanVleet, 6 feet
Tallest players
- Salah Mejri, 7-foot-2
- Boban Marjanovic, 7-foot-3
- Kristaps Porzingis, 7-foot-3
