Manute Bol ( ; June 19, 2010) was a Sudanese-American 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 (appro ...
player and political
activist. Listed at
or
tall, Bol was one of the two
tallest players in the history of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA).
After he played
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for the
Bridgeport Purple Knights, Bol was selected by the
Washington Bullets in the
1985 NBA draft. Bol played for the Bullets and three other teams over the course of his NBA career, which lasted from 1985 to 1995. A
center, Bol is considered among the best shot-blockers in the history of the sport and is the only NBA player to retire with more career blocked shots than points scored. , he ranked second in NBA history in
blocked shots per game and 16th in
total blocked shots.
Bol was notable for his efforts to promote human rights in his native Sudan and aid for Sudanese refugees.
Early life
Manute Bol was born to Madut and Okwok Bol in
Turalei, a small village in what was at the time
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
.
His father was a tribal elder for the
Dinka people.
Before his birth, Okwok Bol had twice given birth to
stillborn twins, and upon a visit to the local mystic, was promised a healthy boy who was to be named Manute.
In the
Dinka language, Manute means "special blessing".
Bol's exact birth year is unknown; the birth date listed in his
United States immigration forms is October 16, 1962, although
Cleveland State basketball head coach
Kevin Mackey claims he chose this date to appease immigration officials.
Mackey said, "I wanted to make sure he was young enough because he didn't have an age. I think he was
n his 40s I really do. But there's no way of ever really knowing." Former teammate
Jayson Williams believes Bol may have been as old as 55 before he retired in 1995.
Bol grew up during a period of relative peace in Sudan, a country that had recently experienced a lengthy
civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
This allowed him to avoid military service and experience a normal life.
At the time, the Dinka people did not encourage formal education, and Bol instead helped raise livestock. An often repeated story about Bol's life in Sudan was that he killed a lion with a spear, although former teammate
Charles Barkley has questioned the validity of the story.
As Bol grew older, he was expected to participate in a ritual in which young boys would have some of their teeth removed with a chisel and have incisions cut into their forehead, which would signal one's ascension to manhood.
Bol did not want to partake in the ritual and instead wanted an education, and on two separate instances ran away from home.
In the second instance, he lived in
Babanusa for about a year but struggled in school since he barely understood
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
.
Once he returned to Turalei, he participated in the ritual.
Bol came from a family of extraordinarily tall men and women.
His mother was , his father was , his sister was , and his great-grandfather was .
The Dinka belong to a larger ethnic group known as the
Nilotes, which are among the
tallest populations in the world. Bol recalled, "I was born in a village where you cannot measure yourself".
By his late teens, Bol was .
Unlike most people of extreme height, Bol did not suffer from a growth-related pathological disorder such as
gigantism.
In 1979, a photographer for a newspaper in
Khartoum took a photo of Bol.
The image was widely circulated, and the police chief in
Wau invited him to play for the police basketball team.
Bol initially declined as he did not understand the appeal of the game, but was eventually convinced by one of his cousins.
When Bol tried to
dunk for the first time, he knocked out two of his upper teeth on the
rim, and resolved to practice more so as to avoid another injury.
After a few games in Wau, Bol was recruited to play for a Catholic team in Khartoum. His coach instructed him to focus on
blocking and
rebounding, and whenever he was not on the court, he was to watch how the taller players would position themselves underneath the basket for
layup
A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, "laying" the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump ...
s and dunks.
Bol's height made him near impossible to guard, and it helped the Catholic team become one of the best teams in the league.
Bol also joined the
Sudan men's national basketball team, and played games in various African and European countries.
A requirement to play for the national team was to enlist in the military, and Bol was listed as a
paratrooper
A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...
, but never saw any service time.
Around this period, Bol watched footage of
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) games, and dreamed of playing in the United States.
When the national team was scheduled to play a game in
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, Bol was not included on the roster, and concluded that the team was worried he would defect to the United States.
Move to the United States
Coach
Don Feeley, formerly the basketball coach at
Fairleigh Dickinson University in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, traveled to Sudan to coach and held clinics for the Sudanese national team in 1982. Feeley convinced Bol to go to the United States and play basketball.
With Feeley's input, Bol first landed in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
. According to
Cleveland State University basketball coach
Kevin Mackey, Bol could not provide a record of his birth date.
Mackey listed it as October 16, 1962, on Cleveland State documents, making Bol 19 years old, but he believed Bol was actually much older, possibly as old as 35.
Bol did not speak or write English at the time of his arrival in Cleveland. He improved his English skills after months of classes at ESL Language Centers at
Case Western Reserve University, but not enough to qualify for enrollment at Cleveland State. Bol never played a game for Cleveland State. Five years later, Cleveland State was placed on two years' probation for providing improper financial assistance to Bol and two other African players.
Again with Feeley's influence, Bol declared his intention to play professionally in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA). The
San Diego Clippers drafted him in the
1983 NBA draft as the 97th overall pick. Clippers head coach
Jim Lynam received a call about Bol from Feeley, whom he knew from coaching circles. "So, I said, 'Have you told anyone else about this?'" Lynam recalled. "Feeley said the only one in the NBA he had called was
Frank Layden at Utah. He said Frank said he couldn't take another big guy like this. He already had
Mark Eaton. I was the second guy Feeley had called. I told him he didn't have to call anyone else."
After the June 1983 draft, Lynam traveled to Cleveland and watched Bol play pickup games. In speaking with Bol, through a fellow Sudanese player, Lynam learned that he had become hesitant about playing professionally because he did not know the language well enough to understand coaches. Lynam said, "One of the things everyone was looking at was his passport. His passport said he was 19 years old. His passport also said he was five feet two." When Lynam asked Bol about the discrepancy between his real height and his passport height, Bol said he had been sitting down when measured by Sudan officials.
Language and passport concerns were set aside when the NBA ruled that Bol had not been eligible for the draft as he had not declared 45 days before the draft as required and declared the pick invalid.
College basketball career

With the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) questioning his eligibility for
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
basketball, Bol enrolled at the
University of Bridgeport, an
NCAA Division II school with an English program for foreign students. He played for the
Purple Knights in the 1984–85 season. His coach was
Bruce Webster, a friend of Feeley. Bol averaged 22.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 7.1 blocks per game for the Purple Knights. The team, which previously drew 500–600 spectators, routinely sold out the 1,800-seat gym.
With Bol, Bridgeport qualified for the
1985 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.
Professional basketball career
Bol turned professional in May 1985, signing with the
Rhode Island Gulls of the spring
United States Basketball League. Going into the
1985 NBA draft, scouts believed that Bol needed another year or two of college; however, Bol opted for the draft because he felt it was the only way to earn enough money to get his sister out of Sudan, which was in
a state of political unrest at the time.
Washington Bullets (1985–1988)
The
Washington Bullets drafted Bol in the second round with the 31st overall selection.
When he arrived in the United States, Bol weighed and had gained just under by the time he entered the NBA. The Bullets sent Bol to strength training with
University of Maryland coach Frank Costello, where he could initially lift only on 10-repetition
bench press
The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
and on 10-repetition
squat (his
body mass index
Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (Mass versus weight, weight) and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the human body weight, body mass divided by the square (algebra), square of the human height, body height, and is ...
was 15.3 and he initially had a 31" (80 cm) waist).
Bol's first tenure with the Bullets lasted three seasons, from 1985 to 1988. In his rookie season (
1985–1986), he appeared in 80 games and recorded a career-high 5.0 blocks per game. That year, during his first career start on December 12, Bol set a Washington franchise record with 12 blocks and scored a career high 18 points in a 110–108 overtime victory against the
Milwaukee Bucks. His total of 397 blocks set the NBA rookie record and remains the second-highest single-season total in league history, behind
Mark Eaton's 456 in 1984–85.
Bol led the league with 5.0 blocks per game during the 1985–86 season.
Bol was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1986.
In 1987, the Bullets drafted the
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
Muggsy Bogues, pairing the tallest and shortest players in the league on the court for one season.
Bol competed in the NBA playoffs with the Bullets in 1986, 1987, and 1988.
Golden State Warriors (1988–1990)
On June 8, 1988, the Bullets traded Bol to the
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...
for
Dave Feitl and a 1989 second round draft pick (
Doug Roth was later selected).
Bol's first tenure with the Warriors lasted two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. In his first season with Golden State, he attempted three-point shots with regularity. In that season he attempted a career-high 91 three-pointers and made 20 of them. During this time, he may have helped to popularize the expression "
my bad", although a 2005 suggestion that he coined the phrase has been discounted.
Bol led the league with 4.3 blocks per game for the 1988–89 season.
Philadelphia 76ers (1990–1993)
On August 1, 1990, Golden State traded Bol to the
Philadelphia 76ers for a 1991 first round draft pick (
Chris Gatling was later selected).
Bol's first tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers lasted three seasons, from 1990 to 1993. After playing in all 82 games in
1990–91, he played in 71 games the
next season and in 58 games the
following season.
During his last season in Philadelphia, he had a memorable night playing against former teammate
Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns, making 6 of 12 three-pointers in the second half in a losing effort. Fans were known to yell "shoot" as soon as Bol received the ball far from the basket.
Later career (1993-1997)
After being released by Philadelphia in July 1993, Bol played in eight games in the
1993–94 season with the
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...
. He scored only one two-point field goal with the team and blocked six shots in 61 total minutes.
After being released by Miami on January 25, 1994, Bol played two games for the Washington Bullets in 1994 and then returned to Philadelphia, where he played four games.
In October 1994, Bol returned to the Warriors. He played his last five NBA games there. On November 15, 1994, Bol came off of the bench to play 29 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He attempted three three-pointers in the fourth quarter and made them all.
Seven nights later in Charlotte, in a game nationally televised by
TNT, he was in the starting lineup again. By this time, two weeks into the season, his career seemed rejuvenated under Warrior head coach
Don Nelson; he was again a defensive force, making threes and contributing as a starter to create matchup problems. After playing only ten minutes against the Hornets on November 22, 1994, he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Before he left the game, he recorded one block and two points and attempted a three-pointer in ten minutes of play.
Bol was waived by Golden State on February 15, 1995.
Bol played 22 games for the
Florida Beach Dogs of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...
during the 1995–96 season under Coach
Eric Musselman. The Beach Dogs' games against the
Sioux Falls Skyforce that season were broadcast by
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, as the Skyforce also featured a former NBA player,
Darryl Dawkins.
In 1996, the
Portland Mountain Cats of the
United States Basketball League announced that Bol would be playing with the team, but he never appeared in uniform.
Bol played professionally in Italy in 1997 and in
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
in 1998 before
rheumatism forced him to retire permanently.
Player profile and accomplishments
Bol and
Gheorghe Mureșan are the two tallest players in the history of the NBA.
Official NBA publications have listed Bol at either
or
tall. He was measured by the
Guinness Book of World Records at 7 ft 6 in tall. Complementing his great height, Bol had exceptionally long limbs (inseam ) and large hands and feet (
size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or volume. Length can be generalized ...
16 ). His
arm span, at , is () the longest in NBA history, and his upward reach was .
With his great height and very long limbs, Bol was one of the NBA's most imposing defensive presences. Along with setting the rookie shot-blocking record in 1985–86, Bol later tied the NBA record for most blocked shots in one half (11) and in one quarter (eight, twice). On , in a game against the
Orlando Magic, he blocked four consecutive shots in a single possession.
On average, he blocked one shot per every 5.6 minutes of playing time.
Bol's other basketball skills, however, were very limited. His rail-thin physique made it difficult for him to establish position against the league's bulkier centers and power forwards, and he also suffered from a
claw hand on his right hand (his natural hand), which severely affected his shooting and ball-handling abilities. To compensate for this inherited deformity on his right hand, Bol learned to dribble, block shots and rebound with his (non-dominant) left hand.
Off the court, Bol established a reputation as a practical joker; Charles Barkley, a frequent victim of his pranks, has attested to Bol's sense of humor.
In his NBA career, Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 3.3 blocks per game, playing an average of 18.7 minutes. He finished his career with 1,599 points, 2,647 rebounds, and 2,086 blocks. He appeared in 624 games over 10 seasons.
As of 2019, Bol had the second-highest career blocks-per-game average (3.3) in the history of the NBA and was the only player in NBA history to have more blocked shots than points scored.
Humanitarian efforts and activism
Bol was active in charitable causes during and after his basketball career. He said he spent much of the money he made during his NBA career supporting various causes related to the war-ravaged nation of his birth, Sudan.
Bol frequently visited Sudanese refugee camps, where he was treated like royalty. In 2001 the Sudanese government offered him the post of minister of sport. Bol, a Christian, refused because one of the conditions was converting to
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
.
Later, the Sudanese government hindered Bol from leaving the country, accusing him of supporting the Dinka-led Christian rebels, the
Sudan People's Liberation Army. It refused to grant him an exit visa unless he came back with more money. Assistance from supporters in the United States, including Senator
Joe Lieberman, raised money to provide Bol with plane tickets to Cairo, Egypt. After six months of negotiations with U.S. consulate officials regarding refugee status, Bol and his family were finally able to leave Egypt and return to the United States.
He was admitted to the United States as a religious refugee in 2002 and settled in
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...
.
Bol established the
Ring True Foundation to continue fund-raising for
Sudanese refugees. He gave most of his earnings (an estimated $3.5 million) to their cause. In 2002,
Fox TV agreed to broadcast the foundation's phone number in exchange for Bol's agreement to appear on their ''
Celebrity Boxing'' show. After the referee goaded, "If you guys don't box, you won't get paid", he scored a third-round victory over former
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
William "The Refrigerator" Perry.
In late 2002, Bol signed a one-day contract with the
Indianapolis Ice of the
Central Hockey League. Though he could not skate, the publicity generated by his single-game appearance helped raise money to assist children in Sudan.
Bol was involved in the April 2006
Sudan Freedom Walk, a three-week march from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
building in New York City to the
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
in Washington, DC. The event was organized by
Simon Deng, a former Sudanese swimming champion who was a longtime friend of Bol's. Deng, who was enslaved from age 9 to 12, is from another tribe in Southern Sudan. His Sudan Freedom Walk focused on finding a solution to the
genocide
Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
in
Darfur (western Sudan) but also sought to raise awareness of the modern-day slavery and human-rights abuses throughout Sudan. Bol spoke in New York City at the start of the walk, and in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
at a rally organized by former hunger striker
Nathan Kleinman.
Bol was also an advocate for reconciliation efforts, and worked to improve education in South Sudan. A Nicholas Kristof article in ''The New York Times'' highlighted Bol's work for reconciliation and education with an organization called
Sudan Sunrise. Bol first began working with Sudan Sunrise to raise awareness on issues of reconciliation in 2005. This included speaking at the United States Capitol and subsequently partnering with Sudan Sunrise to build schools across South Sudan that, in the spirit of reconciliation, would enroll students regardless of tribe or religion.
Personal life
Bol had six children with his first wife, Atong, and four with his second wife, Ajok. Bol's son Madut (born December 19, 1989) played college basketball at
Southern University and graduated in 2013. Another son,
Bol Bol (born November 16, 1999), is an NBA basketball player. Bol was
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Bol spoke
Dinka and
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
before learning English.
In July 1988, Bol was arrested for driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. On August 28, 1988, Bol was arrested in Maryland for driving while intoxicated.
Despite initially knowing little English or Western culture upon arriving in the United States, Bol adjusted and was widely regarded as well-rounded, inquisitive, and well-read. He developed a strong friendship with Charles Barkley, who remarked, "If everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it's a world I'd want to live in. He's smart. He reads ''The New York Times''. He knows what's going on in a lot of subjects. He's not one of these just-basketball guys".
During his time in Egypt, Bol ran a basketball school in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. One of his pupils was a fellow Sudanese refugee, former NBA player
Luol Deng, the son of a former Sudanese cabinet minister. Deng later moved to the United States to further his basketball career, maintaining a close relationship with Bol.
On February 11, 2004, Bol was arrested in West Hartford, Connecticut for assault, disorderly conduct, and interfering with a police officer.
Police alleged that Bol had struck his daughter and injured her lip. According to the ''
Hartford Courant
The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...
'', Bol was intoxicated and also attempted to harm himself. He received medical treatment for his injuries following the incident.
In July 2004, Bol was seriously injured in a car accident in
Colchester, Connecticut; he was ejected from a taxi that hit a guardrail and overturned, resulting in a broken neck. The driver, who died following the accident, was driving with a suspended license and was intoxicated.
Because his fortunes were mostly donated to Sudan and he had no health insurance, Bol was financially ruined by the accident.
Bol was hospitalized for three months following the accident.
When he recovered from his injuries, he moved to
Olathe, Kansas
Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...
.
On February 26, 2006, Bol and his wife Ajok were both arrested in West Harford, Connecticut following a physical altercation at their home.
Death
On June 19, 2010, Bol died from
acute kidney failure and complications from
Stevens–Johnson syndrome at the
University of Virginia Medical Center in
Charlottesville, Virginia.
He is buried in
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
.
Funeral service and tributes
Bol's memorial service was held on June 29, 2010, at the
Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC. His body lay in an eight-foot-long, specially-built casket.
At the funeral, U.S. Senator
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...
said, "I can't think of a person that I know of in the world
housed
iscelebrity status for a greater good than what Manute Bol did. He did it for his people. He gave his life for his people." NBA Development Vice President Rory Sparrow added, "'He had a heart that was very large and full of compassion for his fellow man'".
After his death, tributes to Bol's career and charitable works came from around the United States and the world. His former teams, and the NBA, issued statements in recognition of his impact on the sport of basketball and on Sudan. Brownback paid tribute to Bol on the floor of the United States Senate.
Honors
* Bol was inducted into the University of Bridgeport Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 2010.
* On January 27, 2015, the Golden State Warriors honored Bol with a Manute Bol
bobblehead giveaway. The team sponsored a giveaway of 10,000 of the tallest bobbleheads in franchise history, at .
* The "Manute Bol Court" was built and constructed in South Sudan by the Luol Deng Foundation in 2015.
* The Manute Bol Peace Builders Basketball Tournament is held annually throughout Sudan.
* In 2016, Bol was inducted into the
Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
, -
,
, align="left" ,
Washington
, 80 , , 60 , , 26.1 , , .460 , , .000 , , .488 , , 6.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 5.0* , , 3.7
, -
, align="left" ,
1986–87
, align="left" ,
Washington
, 82 , , 12 , , 18.9 , , .446 , , .000 , , .672 , , 4.4 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 3.7 , , 3.1
, -
, align="left" ,
1987–88
, align="left" ,
Washington
, 77 , , 4 , , 14.8 , , .455 , , .000 , , .531 , , 3.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.7 , , 2.3
, -
, align="left" ,
1988–89
, align="left" ,
Golden State
, 80 , , 4 , , 22.1 , , .369 , , .220 , , .606 , , 5.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 4.3* , , 3.9
, -
, align="left" ,
1989–90
, align="left" ,
Golden State
, 75 , , 20 , , 17.5 , , .331 , , .188 , , .510 , , 3.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 3.2 , , 1.9
, -
, align="left" ,
1990–91
, align="left" ,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 82 , , 6 , , 18.6 , , .396 , , .071 , , .585 , , 4.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 3.0 , , 1.9
, -
, align="left" ,
1991–92
, align="left" ,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 71 , , 2 , , 17.8 , , .383 , , .000 , , .462 , , 3.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.9 , , 1.5
, -
, align="left" ,
1992–93
, align="left" ,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 58 , , 23 , , 14.7 , , .409 , , .313 , , .632 , , 3.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.1 , , 2.2
, -
, align="left" ,
1993–94
, align="left" ,
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, 8 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .083 , , .000 , , – , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3
, -
, align="left" ,
1993–94
, align="left" ,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 4 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .429 , , – , , – , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 2.3 , , 1.5
, -
, align="left" ,
1993–94
, align="left" ,
Washington
, 2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , – , , – , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.0
, -
, align="left" ,
1994–95
, align="left" ,
Golden State
, 5 , , 2 , , 16.2 , , .600 , , .600 , , – , , 2.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , , 3.0
, - class=sortbottom
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 624 , , 133 , , 18.7 , , .407 , , .210 , , .561 , , 4.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 3.3 , , 2.6
, -
Playoffs
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1986
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 5 , , 5 , , 30.4 , , .588 , , – , , .375 , , 7.6 , , 0.2 , , 0.6 , , 5.8, , 4.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 3 , , 0 , , 14.3 , , .400 , , .000 , , .000 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.6 , , 2.6
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1988
, style="text-align:left;",
Washington
, 5 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .571 , , – , , 1.000 , , 2.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.8
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1989
, style="text-align:left;",
Golden State
, 8 , , 0 , , 18.5 , , .194 , , .091 , , .286 , , 3.8 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 3.6 , , 2.2
, -
, style="text-align:left;",
1991
, style="text-align:left;",
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, 8 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .500 , , – , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 1.5 , , 3.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 29 , , 5 , , 17.1 , , .386 , , .087 , , .444 , , 3.8 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 2.7 , , 2.8
College
Source
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
, -
, style="text-align:left;", 1984–85
, style="text-align:left;",
Bridgeport
, 31 , , .611 , , .595 , , 13.5 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 7.1 , , 22.5
See also
*
List of NBA annual blocks leaders
*
List of NBA single-game blocks leaders
*
List of NBA single-season blocks per game leaders
*
List of tallest players in NBA history
*
List of tallest people
Notes
References
External links
*
Player Profile (InterBasket)*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bol, Manute
2010 deaths
American Christians
American men's basketball players
Bridgeport Purple Knights men's basketball players
Case Western Reserve University alumni
Centers (basketball)
Deaths from kidney failure in the United States
Dinka people
South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in Italy
South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in the United States
South Sudanese expatriate basketball people in Qatar
Florida Beachdogs players
Golden State Warriors players
Miami Heat players
People from Warrap (state)
Sportspeople from West Hartford, Connecticut
Basketball players from Hartford County, Connecticut
Philadelphia 76ers players
San Diego Clippers draft picks
Sudanese activists
Sudanese Christians
Sudanese emigrants to the United States
Sudanese expatriates in Egypt
Sudanese sportsmen
United States Basketball League players
Washington Bullets draft picks
Washington Bullets players
Year of birth unknown
Date of birth unknown