Ever since he entered the league, Kevin Durant has been listed as 6'9". He’s listed that way in every media guide and on basketball-reference.com. And that was Durant’s height — at age 17 at the Nike camp. At the NBA predraft camp in 2007 he measured 6'10.75" and since then Durant has admitted that is his height, adding that with shoes on he is a 7-footer. Or, just look at a picture of him next to DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan and try to tell me KD is 6'9".
Boogie joked that he told KD to stop standing next to him. Boogie listed at 6-11, Durant at 6-9. pic.twitter.com/E2OIJwXKVS
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 29, 2016
Durant is not an isolated case, a lot of players have their height “adjusted” up or down a little.
The league is trying to do away with this — as well as some age questions — and sent a memo to teams saying they need to provide “precise” measurements and ages for all players. From Marc Stein of the New York Times.
NBA teams were notified this week that they must certify and submit the precise height and age for every player within the first week of training camp, league sources tell @NYTSports
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
For years some players have been listed as taller -- and some shorter -- than they really are. The league clearly wants to change that.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
Height will be measured with players' shoes OFF, I'm told. Player weight will not be sought because that number fluctuates so often ...
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
Among the motivations for this new policy, sources say, is the fact that Buddy Hield's age was found to be recorded incorrectly in 2018 ... as covered in this @BenHoffmanNYT story: https://t.co/tlHpU0Aw5x
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 26, 2019
Shoes off measurements are going to be interesting, a few guards are not going to be happy suddenly being listed as shorter than they have been for years.
It’s all part of the league’s push toward transparency and accuracy, just like now requiring coaches to turn in their starting lineups 30 minutes before game time, not just 10 (and that was often fudged). If the NBA is going to ask for a slice of sports gambling revenue, they are going to have to be very transparent with a lot of things — injury reports are at the top of that list — and this new requirement dovetails with that.
