DAILY DIRT: Biggest shoes in NBA history? Would you believe size 22 — and that’s no small feat

February 28, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Bob Lanier and his shoes are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Daily Dirt for Friday, Feb. 28, 2025

Donovan Mitchell is the only guard on the bigfoot list … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,215 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Lanier and some guy named Tacko Fall own the distinction of having the biggest feet in NBA history.

All three wore size 22s during their playing days, which is simply hard to believe. I wear a size 11, and my immediate thought when coming across this information was their shoes were exactly double the size of my boats.

Ahh … not so fast.

The overall length/size of the shoe would not be exactly double due to the way sizing scales are constructed. The size progression isn’t perfectly linear, I am told, meaning a size 22 is not simply “twice” the size of an 11.

But it’s safe to say, Shaq’s size 22 is a beast.

Here’s a look at the all-time biggest feet in NBA history:

Shaquille O’Neal, shoe size: 22. (The 7-1 Shaq has arguably become a bigger star since retiring from the NBA.)
Bob Lanier, shoe size: 22. (Interesting note about the 6-10 Lanier. He was one of just 14 NBA players to have his jersey retired by two teams, the Pistons and Bucks.)
Tacko Fall, show size: 22. (The 7-6 Fall last played in the NBA in 2021 for the Cavaliers.)
Brook Lopez, shoe size: 21. (This half of the Lopez twindom — see below — currently plies his trade for the Bucks.)
Robin Lopez, shoe size: 20. (He was recently waived by the Kings, his ninth NBA team.)
Karl Anthony Towns, shoe size: 20. (Towns currently plays for the Timberwolves.)
Kevin Love, shoe size: 19. (Love, who plays for the Heat, is 6-8.)
Andre Drummond, shoe size: 19. (Drummond, who plays for the 76ers, is 6-10.)
Donovan Mitchell, shoe size: 18. (Next to Shaq and Lanier, I’d say Mitchell, an all-league guard for the Cavaliers, is the biggest star on this list. He’s also the only guy who wasn’t/isn’t a center or forward.)
Yao Ming, shoe size: 18 (Ming was 7-6.)
Dwight Howard, shoe size: 18. (Howard was 6-10.)

2. Did you know (Part 290)

That the lead role in “The Karate Kid” was originally offered to Charlie Sheen, ahead of Ralph Macchio.
That the lead roles in “Trading Places” were originally offered to Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder, not Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy.
That the score for the Oliver Stone film “Wall Street” was composed by Stewart Copeland, the drummer from The Police.
That Prince wrote the following songs: “Manic Monday” by The Bangles, “I Feel For You” by Chaka Khan, “Sugar Walls” by Sheena Easton and “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor.
That a catfish have as many as 175,000 taste buds. What could possibly be so tasty at the bottom of a river?

3. This week’s best of “Found on Facebook”:

“I wonder if colorblind people read “Colorado” as just “ado”.
“Just remember the speed limit really just depends on the song that’s playing.”
“I understand being a responsible adult … but every day? Every single day?”
“Go Indians! Because nobody ever played Cowboys and Guardians.”
“Kids these days are soft. I’m pretty sure I died once when I was 7 and my mom made me walk it off.”

Steve Thought O’ The Day — I have learned that Ireland’s capital city is growing at an exponential rate. In fact, It’s Dublin.