It’s not always easy being tall. Sure, it can help you get into the NBA, but it can cause problems for you in your everyday life — just ask Tacko Fall. The Senegal native is a 7’5″ center for the Celtics, who knows the negatives of being so tall.

His big frame allowed him to have an NBA combine record standing reach of 10 feet, 2.5 inches, but his big body needs more than one mattress to sleep on. He discussed his height in an interview last year, and here is some of what he said about it.

1 mattress isn’t big enough for Tacko Fall

In the 2019 interview with GQ, Fall discussed his sleeping arrangements. He said that for all four years he attended the University of Central Florida, he had to push two full-size mattresses together so that he could have a bed long enough to sleep comfortably. That’s not surprising with the beds in many college dorms.

Fall noted that, at the time of the interview less than a week before the 2019 NBA draft, he was staying at an Airbnb so he can’t do that, but he believed that it was a king-sized he was sleeping in there. He also said he’d soon be getting “a way bigger bed” shortly once he was settled in at his own place.

Other thoughts about Fall’s height

The interviewer also asked Fall about his least favorite questions he gets about his height. Fall responded that he gets questions like people asking how the weather is up there and if he plays basketball, along with “bad jokes” about how tall he is. He said he doesn’t mind people talking about his height most of the time, but it gets to be a problem if he’s in a rush and has to get somewhere. If he stops for somebody, then everybody wants to talk to him and take pictures. While Fall says he understands it “to some degree,” he also says he doesn’t want to be “a freak show,” reminding readers that he is “still human.”

Height alone won’t lead to NBA success

Fall knows that just being as tall as he is isn’t enough for him to become a star in the NBA. He knows he needs to improve his body, and he credits the UCF training staff with helping him to understand his body more. He says his focus has been on improving his core, hip strength, balance, and “lower body stuff.” But he makes sure to stay away from deadlifts “too avoid putting too much pressure on my back.” Fall’s conditioning regimen is mostly about injury prevention, and as such it was different than most of his college teammates’ conditioning drills.

Falls’ first season in the NBA

Fall went undrafted in 2019 but played for the Celtics in the NBA Summer League that year, which led to the team signing him to a two-way contract. He played six games for the Celtics as a rookie, averaging just four minutes and 3.2 points per game. Fall spent most of the 2019-20 season on the Maine Red Claws of the G League. He did better there, averaging 12.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in the lower league.

Fall averaged nearly three blocks per game, which helped him get named All-Defensive G League for the season. He has one year left on his contract with Boston before becoming a restricted free agent, and he is likely going to have to spend more time on the NBA roster next season if he wants the team to give him an extension or a new contract with the time comes.