In its past, the NBA is not short of controversial events; it is rather full with them. From performance-enhancing substances, affairs, links to criminal activity, sports betting and everything in between, the league has at some point come across.
Of course, most sticky situations centre on the very players that make up the NBA, and some are even more unusual than others. With a variety of events to select from, when it comes to the contentious tale of Sudanese-born former Centre Manute Bol, just about everything was a question mark when he arrived to American land, even his age.
The challenges
It’s crucial to know that athletes born in Africa often find themselves in this state of affairs. Their birthing process is quite different from that of other countries, thus often children are born without a birth certificate issued.
Lack of a birth certificate results from several elements, including poverty, ignorance of registration, geographical difficulties and bureaucratic obstacles, not from a deliberate malicious conduct. These problems sometimes affect parents’ capacity to register their children and receive necessary services or, in Bol’s case, have clear proof he was of a specific age before the NBA draft.
More recently, former Milwaukee Bucks lottery pick Thon Maker—who was picked with the 10th pick in the 2016 NBA draft—showcases this situation following 2010s. Before the selection, Maker’s age caused great debate since many felt he was closer to 23 than the 19-year-old he claimed. This debate came from a 2010 yearbook implying he was in the graduating class of that year, an expired passport showing a different birthdate, and contradicting data regarding his school background.
Though Thon struggled early on and only spent three years in Milwaukee, he was praised as an athletic talent with outstanding bloodlines. He was then sent to the Detroit Pistons before spending a short time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and leaving the league. Although Maker claimed not to be the age he claimed, it is never clear from public records whether this is indeed a reasonable possibility.
Mackey’s controversial call
Kevin Mackey signed Bol to attend Cleveland State University before he signed a contract with the NBA. He looked like a mouthwatering potential. Mackey jumped at the chance to have him a part of his program because standing at 7’7″ alone caught the attention of NBA scouts and combined with his natural athletic explosiveness, wingspan, reach, good hands, the potential to protect the rim and patrol the paint.
Still, Kevin knew of the riddles around Manute’s personal data. But it didn’t stop him either. Mackey dubious took it upon himself to provide Bol a birthdate, expecting his stock to climb ahead of an NBA future.
“They didn’t know his age, so I gave him his birthday. Bol was unsure of his age, and the visitor he brought over knew not how old he was either. No one knew his age,” he stated.
Given he lacked an age, “I wanted to make sure he was young enough.” I honestly believe he was in his 40s. Still, there’s no way of ever knowing exactly. Every athletic door is open at 19; every athletic door shuts when you are 35. He said, most likely 40, 50 years old, and was playing in the NBA.
An impressive career
Sadly, Bol died in 2010 from acute kidney failure and Stevens-Johnson syndrome complications; 15 years after he retired from the NBA.
He still is among the most fascinating players in league history today. Bol departed as the only player ever with more blocks than points in a career; he led the NBA in blocks on two occasions in 1986 and 1989.
Given his age’s uncertainty, Bol most likely participated and produced in the NBA in his mid-40s or early 50s. If so, it makes his career much more remarkable than it was and maybe suggests that he was an early model of a player postponing Father Time before sports science and modern medicine were developed.
Though former Philadelphia 76ers teammate Jayson Williams has later claimed Bol was 55 when he retired from the Association, we never learnt his actual age.
Still, Mackey thought of him so highly at the time that he was ready to risk his reputation to offer Bol an opportunity in the professional sports world.
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