Truth in Height begins: How tall will KD be?

The listed heights of NBA players have always been just a bit of a joke. Seven-footer want to be listed just below that threshold. Kevin Garnett said once he was happy being 6’11” in part because he was listed at one inch taller, his coaches might want him to guard Shaquille O’Nell. Shorter players want us to believe they’re all 6’1” rather than 5’11” ... or shorter.

So the league had joined the Truth in Height movement and have begun measuring players. As Marc Stein reported last week...

[T]he league notified teams this week that they are required to certify and submit each player’s height and age within the first week of training camp, according to four people familiar with the new policy.

Jarrett Allen told YES Network Friday that he’s already been tested ... and unfortunately, his Afro will not count. It got squished down, he said, leading to this artist’s conception...

Ouch indeed.

For the Nets, of course, there are questions about whether Nicolas Claxton, measured at 6’11 3/4” at the Draft Combine in May has grown that additional quarter inch since. And we will finally know whether Rodions Kurucs is 6’9”, as he’s listed on the Nets roster, or 6’10”, as he was listed last year on the Long Island roster. (Many things can happen when you take the Long Island Railroad out of Penn Station, but growing an inch isn’t one of them. )

The big question, of course, will be how tall is Kevin Durant, really? He’s been listed at 6’9” since he entered the league, but no one believes that anymore. He’s certainly a 7-footer, probably well over. He’s likely the tallest Net. How does Durant explain his lack of desire to be listed at 7-foot-whatever.

Stein notes what KD told the Wall Street Journal a ways back.

“For me, when I’m talking to women, I’m 7 feet. In basketball circles, I’m 6-9. But really, I’ve always thought it was cool to say I’m a 6-9 small forward. Really, that’s the prototypical size for a small forward. Anything taller than that and they’ll start saying, ‘Ah, he’s a power forward.’ ”

Hey, Kevin, you’re now part of Kenny Atkinson’s position-less basketball. It doesn’t matter anymore. Time to come clean.

Stein reports that team physicians will do the measuring and must certify the results. One downside: the measurements will be in bare feet. Unless they start playing without sneakers, we will asterisk the new measurements as well.

No word when the measurements will be revealed, but if they want things done the first week of camp, it sounds like we’ll see them before Opening Night. Something else to look forward to!