Meet the world’s tallest Stand Up Paddler: Former NBA star Luc Longley.

If you’re not a sports fan here’s a quick bio: Luc Longley is Australia’s greatest ever basketballer. He was the first Aussie to play in the NBA and won three championships (alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen) as part of the record-setting Chicago Bulls team in the mid to late nineties.

Luc has long since retired and these days spends a lot of time paddling his SUP board. The picture up top was taken last week in Perth, Western Australia, just before “The Doctor” SUP race. That’s Luc in the middle (obviously…). To the left is World Champion (and eventual winner of The Doctor) Travis Grant, while to the right is Dale Chapman, who runs DC Paddleboards and shapes for both Luc and Travis.

Luc Longley is not only a keen paddler but also a big fan of the sport of SUP racing. With his boat, he shepherded a bunch of the competitors over to the start line at The Doctor (the race starts on an island) and would have been paddling in the race himself if it wasn’t for an injury.

It’s awesome to see stars from other sports getting right into Stand Up Paddling. I imagine the guy has one hell of a reach, though he probably has trouble finding a paddle shaft that’s long enough. Plus as you can see below he makes a 17 footer look like a 12’6…

One of the reasons Luc was such a good basketballer is that he’s tall. Very tall. Officially clocking in at 218 cms (7 ft 2 inches). In comparison, Travis Grant measures in at 174 cms.

I think that officially makes Luc Longley the world’s tallest Stand Up Paddler.