Tacko Fall Bio: Basketball, Career, NBA & Family

Tacko Fall is a basketball player with supergiant height and he plays for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and their G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws in NBA G League. For all that, he signed a new contract with Xinjiang Flying Tigers for 2022.

Basketball is said to be more convenient for taller players. Tacko Fall, a Senegalese basketball player, stands at 2.28 m.

Muggsy Bogues 2.22 m, on the other hand, proved that you can flaunt your inconveniences and still shine.

Manute Bol is said to be the tallest man ever to have played in the NBA, and was (2.34 m) tall.

The height factor has definitely favored Fall at times. But his skills are not limited to dunking and jumping. He has already gathered some marvelous moments in his career. This big man has a long way to go.

Today, we will be talking about Tacko Fall’s personal and professional life. Let’s get started!

Quick Facts About Tacko Fall

Tacko Fall – Early Life And Family

Tacko Fall was born on December 10, 1995, in Dakar, Senegal. His mother’s name is Marianne Sene. Fall is reported to have a younger brother and a few half-siblings.

We did not find his father’s name, but we believe that the duo must have shared a great bond.

Little Tacko

He was a very athletic child. He played soccer more fondly than basketball. In fact, he was not introduced to basketball until he was 16.

He must be a rare breed because no one expects you not to play basketball for 16 years of your life and then suddenly land on the NBA. Fall remembers being called out and teased for the same thing.

But there is no harm in recognizing your purpose and passion a little late. Fall moved to the United States at the age of 16.

Before moving to the United States, he visited the International Sports Training Institute in Dakar. He was spotted and fondly looked at by a few workers at that place.

They contributed to spreading words about him, which later helped him pave a path in basketball.

He was precisely discovered in Africa by the brother of former NBA player Mamadou N’Diaye, Ibrahim.

He was then recruited to play in Texas at a charter school. That school closed for some reason.

Fall was homesick already. He did not even have the paperwork left to stay in the United States.

The Back Story

When Tacko first moved to the United States, he spoke French better than English. Likewise, he understood soccer better than basketball.

His mother, Marianne Sene, was doubtful about sending her boy thousands of miles away from home.

Tacko’s father convinced her, saying how beneficial it would be for their son’s education. He was working as a cab driver in Ohio, United States then.

Tacko Fall had a brief stay in Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee. He later settled down in Florida.

More About Tacko Fall

Fall is a devotee of Islam. He chose the jersey number 99 with the Boston Celtics to reference the 99 Names of Allah.

Fall scored a 4.0-grade point average (GPA) in high school. He took advanced mathematics and science classes.

He learned fluent English within eight months. Similarly, he scored 95th percentile on the SAT.

He did his majors in computer science at the University of Central Florida,

Fall aspired to become an engineer for electronic companies such as Siemens or Microsoft. However, his fate landed him in the NBA.

Tacko Fall – High School And Before

Fall received training under the guidance of NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon when he played organized basketball in Houston, Texas.

His height was recorded to be (2.31 m) then. He still had his growing age left.

Fall was known to be the tallest high school basketball player in the country while he played for Jamie’s House Charter and Liberty Christian Prep.

His height and reach always took him to big things, making him the most highly scouted high school basketball center in the nation.

He first played for Jamie’s House Charter School in Houston. He contributed to leading the team to win the state championship.

And Then

Fall then played with the ISTI all-stars summer travel team. He was also a part of Each 1 Teach 1 on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit.

He played alongside fellow class of 2015 recruits Antonio Blakeney and Ben Simmons in the EYBL.

Fall has also been a part of several NCAA-certified events. He was in the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Virginia.

Fall then got admitted to the Liberty Christian Preparatory School in Tavares, Florida. He recorded 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 5.1 blocks on average per game in his senior year.

He had a big list of schools approaching him. Fall chose the University of Central Florida in Orlando among more than forty options.

The University of Central Florida officially signed him on October 28, 2014. Head coach Donnie Jones mentored him while he represented UCF Knights.

Tacko Fall – College Career

Fall went to the University of Central Florida. He played for their basketball team, UCF Knights, as a center.

He faced his fellow giant Senegalese center Mamadou N’Diaye. Mamador stands at 2.31 m.

The faceoff was the highest tip-off and match-up in United States college basketball history in a game against UC Irvine.

Fall’s transition from Dakar to the States had something to do with fellow Dakar native Mamador’s brother, Ibrahim.

He then became the tallest player in college basketball in his sophomore year after his friend from Dakar declared for the 2016 NBA draft.

Fall is not one of those players who are naturally friendly with basketball. However, he made significant improvements in his playing style as the years passed by.

2017 And Later

He was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2017. Similarly, he was ranked second nationally in field goal percentage in January 2017.

Fall was announced in the 2017 NBA draft on April 5, 2017. He still left a possibility of returning to Central Florida before the end of that year’s draft lottery.

He then removed his name from consideration for the NBA draft on May 24, 2017.

Fall returned to UCF Knights for his junior year. He had a shoulder injury while in junior year. As a result, he could participate only in 16 games, totaling 351 minutes.

Fall had a senior year then. He was named to the Preseason Second Team All-AAC. He also contributed to leading the UCF Knights to the NCAA Tournament.

In fact, the team earned its first victory in program history. It was a win over VCU.

Fall compiled 15 points and six rebounds in his final game. It was a 77–76 loss to Duke.

Tacko Fall – Professional Career

Fall was named one of 80 participants (40 representing the NBA draft hopefuls) for the NBA G League Elite Camp on May 12–14. It was right after he finished his senior year.

He then got transferred into the NBA Draft Combine as one of an additional 11 participants.

He also put up new records at the event during the combine. The record also included height, wingspan, and standing reach. Fall’s height was compared to former NBA player Manute Bol.

Boston Celtics (2019–present)

Fall remained undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. But he was signed to an Exhibit 10 Contract by the Boston Celtics on June 21, 2019.

Before his signing in the NBA draft, he joined the Los Angeles Lakers team for practice. Besides, he also paid a visit to four other teams including New York Knicks. 

He played for the Boston Celtics during the 2019 NBA Summer League season. He recorded 6 points in his first game alongside 4 rebounds.

Similarly, he tallied 12 points for his first double-digit scoring game, alongside another rebound in his second game.

Fall also had one blocked shot in both of his first two matches. He ended his 2019 Summer League run, by participating in all five games with the Boston Celtics.

He averaged 7.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. Similarly, Fall shot a team-high 77 percent from the field.

The Boston Celtics officially announced their signing with Fall on July 25, 2019. They again announced their two-way contract with Fall on October 13, 2019.

The two-way contract enabled Fall to split his time between the Boston Celtics and their G League affiliate Maine Red Claws.

Fall played his debut game for the Boston Celtics on October 26, 2019. It was against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

He scored 4 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in four minutes. Moreover, his first points came from a standing dunk.

Likewise, he stood up as one of the top players in the G League. He averaged a double-double of 12.9 points and 11.1 rebounds.

Nearly 3 blocks per game accompanied it for the Maine Red Claws. As of now, he is on the number 70 rating with the Boston Celtics.

Tacko Fall – Player Profile

Fall is exceptionally tall. In fact, he is one of the tallest basketball players that have ever been associated with the NBA.

He plays the center position.

Fall’s wingspan is 2.56 m. Similarly, he has a standing reach of 3.10 m.

He has a maximum vertical leap of 0.67 m.

Fall also has considerably long hands, which are recorded to be 0.26 m in length and width. It enables him to palm the ball with one hand.

He was said to be a great shot blocker who was relatively lacking in lane agility and three-quarter-court sprinting speed in the 2019 NBA draft.

Tacko Fall Game With Zion Williamson

During the match against Duke and UCF for the spot in sweet 16, Duke took the victory. Also as they appeared in the tournament, Fall had made headlines for stating that he didn’t want to appear beside Zion as an extra.

During the game, as Zion tried to dunk, Fall had it covered however, it was questioned all over.

“It’s very hard [to dunk on me], I mean, I won’t allow it. I won’t allow it and I won’t allow him putting me on one of his highlight tapes.”

Tacko Fall – Diet

Like every athlete, Tacko Fall is concerned with his diet. Currently, Fall states that he consumes around 6,000 calories per day.

Before his early phase, he used to rely on light breakfast. Furthermore, he doesn’t eat pork and hence, munches turkey bacon or turkey sausage.

Also, he is more into fruits, especially grapes and bananas. Likewise, he has also cut down on fast foods and oily foods. During his practice, he often gets two boxes for lunch and thus, has a box once in lunch and the other one in a few hours.

Tacko Fall – Net Worth

Fall’s NBA career has just begun. He has already earned a good amount of money.

Tacko Fall’s net worth is estimated to be around Estimated $100,000 – $1M.

He lives a decent life in his 20s with self-earned money.

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