Does Basketball Make You Taller?

No, playing basketball does not make you taller. Basketball players are tall because the sport attracts and selects tall people, not because shooting hoops stretches bones. Studies that follow young athletes over several years find that regular training doesn't change how tall they become; your adult height depends mostly on your genes and on staying healthy while you're still growing.

If you want to know how much growing you have left, our height calculator gives a realistic estimate based on your age, height and parents' heights.

Does playing basketball make you taller?

The best evidence comes from long-term studies that measure the same kids year after year. A well-known review by growth researcher Robert Malina compared active and inactive boys, and boys who trained regularly in sports (mostly team sports). The active and inactive boys ended up the same size, with the same timing and speed of their growth spurt. The review concluded that regular activity and sports training have no effect on final height, the timing of the growth spurt or how fast kids grow.

That fits with what we know about height. According to MedlinePlus, about 80% of how tall you get comes down to the genes you inherit. The rest depends on things like nutrition, illness and access to health care during childhood. Basketball isn't on that list.

Why are basketball players so tall?

This is a classic example of selection bias: the sport chooses tall people, so it looks like the sport makes people tall. Here's how it happens:

• Height is an advantage. Taller kids score, rebound and block more easily, so they enjoy early success.
• Coaches pick tall players. Tryouts, travel teams and recruiting all favor size.
• Shorter kids drift away. Many switch to sports where their size helps instead.
• Early bloomers stand out. A kid who hits puberty early is temporarily taller than classmates and may get noticed, even if they don't end up taller as adults.

By the time you look at a high school varsity roster, you're seeing the result of years of filtering, not years of growing from basketball.

Does jumping make you taller?

Jumping doesn't make your bones longer. Bones grow in length at the growth plates, areas of cartilage near the ends of long bones that help set each bone's final length and shape. Their activity is driven by genes and hormones, and once you're fully grown they harden into solid bone.

What jumping does do is load your skeleton. The CDC lists jumping and running as bone-strengthening activities and recommends them at least 3 days a week for kids and teens. Stronger, denser bones are a real benefit, just not a taller one. Hanging from a bar works the same way: it can't lengthen bones, as we explain in does stretching make you taller.

Does swimming make you taller?

No. Elite swimmers are often tall, but the Malina review found that young swimmers (along with track athletes and rowers) were already taller than average in childhood, before years of training, and simply kept their position on the growth chart. The same research found gymnasts were already shorter than average early on. In both cases, the sport selected the body type.

A later expert review of artistic gymnasts reached a matching conclusion from the other direction: intensive gymnastics training did not reduce their adult height. Sports don't push height up or pull it down in any meaningful way.

Does volleyball make you taller?

Volleyball works like basketball. Height is a huge advantage at the net, so tall players are drawn to the sport and recruited into it. No study shows that the spiking, blocking and jumping make anyone grow more. Like basketball, it's excellent bone-strengthening exercise.

What physical activity does do for growing kids

Being active won't add inches, but it helps your body do its job well while you grow:

• Builds stronger bones. NIAMS (part of the NIH) names basketball, jumping rope, walking and dancing as weight-bearing activities that strengthen bones. Your bone mass keeps building until your mid- to late 20s, so the habits you build now matter for life.
• Supports overall health. The CDC recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity every day for ages 6 to 17, plus muscle- and bone-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week.

Worried that the weight room will hurt your growth instead? Read does lifting weights stunt growth and does working out make you taller.

What actually affects how tall you'll get

If basketball isn't the answer, what is? While your growth plates are open, these are the factors that matter:

1. Genes. Your parents' heights are the strongest clue to your own.
2. Puberty timing. Early and late bloomers grow at different times but often end up in a similar range.
3. Nutrition. Enough calories, protein, calcium and vitamin D support normal growth. See foods that help you grow taller.
4. Sleep. The CDC recommends 8 to 10 hours a night for teens 13 to 17. More on that in does sleep make you taller.
5. Overall health. Long-term illness, untreated medical conditions and poor nutrition can hold growth back.

None of these can push you past your genetic potential. They help you reach it.

Bottom line: Play basketball, volleyball or any sport because you enjoy it and it keeps you healthy. It won't change your height, and it won't stunt it either.

When to see a doctor

Most teens who feel short are healthy and simply growing on their own schedule. Talk to a doctor if:

• You (or your child) grew less than about 2 inches (5 cm) in a year during childhood, before the teen growth spurt.
• Height has dropped across major lines on the growth chart over time. You can check where you stand with our height percentile calculator.
• There are no signs of puberty by about age 14 for boys or 13 for girls.
• You're much shorter than kids your age, or much shorter than your parents' heights would suggest.

A doctor can review your growth chart and, if needed, order tests such as a bone-age X-ray to see how much growing time is left.

The takeaway

Basketball players are tall because tall people play basketball, not the other way around. Jumping, swimming and volleyball are all great for your bones, fitness and confidence, but your height is mostly written in your genes. Focus on what you control: stay active, eat well, sleep enough and let your body finish growing on its own timeline.