That said, NBA teams are pretty savvy about breaking down the specific characteristics that lead to NBA success. Not just height, but speed, quickness, vertical leap, ability to jump up and down multiple times, wingspan, shooting ability at different distances. There is plenty of specificity in NBA talent analysis. Height matters, but other factors matter, too. And those factors can and have been quantified.
I think basketball players are mainly judged on playing basketball, not wingspan, etc. Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol are interesting not because they are tall, but because they started playing basketball in their mid to late teens. At their various stages of recruitment, they were probably judged differently than their competitors. Their competitors were probably judged by success on the court, while they were probably judged more on basics like wingspan, because they were expected to progress more than other players.
Added: people selected for being tall will be taller than they are good at basketball, while people selected for good at basketball will be better than they are tall.
I think basketball players are mainly judged on playing basketball, not wingspan, etc. Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol are interesting not because they are tall, but because they started playing basketball in their mid to late teens. At their various stages of recruitment, they were probably judged differently than their competitors. Their competitors were probably judged by success on the court, while they were probably judged more on basics like wingspan, because they were expected to progress more than other players.
Added: people selected for being tall will be taller than they are good at basketball, while people selected for good at basketball will be better than they are tall.