Manute Bol was one of the most fascinating players of his era. At 7'7", he and George Muresan were the tallest players in NBA history, which the former leveraged to win the blocks title twice and earn a place on the All-Defensive Team in 1986.
But as captivating as Bol was on the floor, the stories about him off it were just as fascinating.
From his failed attempts to gain weight to his playing drunk , Bol was a unique individual ahead of his time. Former All-Star big man Jayson Williams, who played with him on the Philadelphia 76ers, added more to Bol's lore when he implied that the latter had to be more than 50 years old when he played in the league.
Records show that Bol was born in Gogrial, South Sudan, on October 16, 1962, meaning that during the 1990-91 season, Williams' first in the Association, Bol was 28 years old. However, the former had his doubts about that.
In fact, he thought that Bol had to be twice as old as he was listed​.
"He used to say that he was 35 years old, but I used to be on the bench looking at all the circles and scars around his head," Jayson shared . "And I asked him one day, 'Manute, what are those scars on your head?'"
"And he says, 'Well, the white man lost my birth certificate in the jungle, so every five years I take a rock and I slice one across my head,'" Jayson recalled Manute's response. "I was like, 'All right,' and then I started looking at it the next game, and I said, 'Holy s—, Manute Bol is 55 years old!'"
Williams' story should be approached with some skepticism, but there's no denying the challenges of obtaining a proper birth certificate in Africa during that time. Whether due to logistical hurdles or bureaucratic inefficiencies, it was not uncommon for many Africans to go without official documentation until well into adulthood.
Williams' tale, though, holds water, especially after Bol's coach, Kevin Mackey, who tried to recruit him to play for Cleveland State University, claimed that he gave him his birth date .
"I gave him his birthday because they didn't know how old he was. Bol had no idea of his age, and the kid who came over with him didn't know how old he was. No one knew how old he was," he said .
"I wanted to make sure he was young enough because he didn't have an age. I think he was in his 40s; I really do. But there's no way of ever really knowing. Every athletic door is open at 19; every athletic door is closed when you're 35. He was probably 40, 50 years old when he was playing in the NBA," Mackey added.
While the truth about Bol's actual birth date will forever be a mystery, his place in the game is forever set in stone. A defensive sentinel unlike any other the league had seen at that time, he averaged 5.0 blocks during his rookie season and finished his 10-year career averaging 3.3 blocks per game.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
