With opportunities drying up stateside, former NBA big man Tacko Fall—a fan favorite throughout his two-year stint in Boston—has had to continue his career overseas, recently resurfacing in China with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. Known for his towering height (7’6”) and unusual name connoting Mexico’s greatest culinary creation, Fall was largely a novelty in the NBA, but in China, he’s been an absolute assassin, looking unstoppable of late while flashing skills we didn’t know he had in his hoops arsenal.
Coast-to-coast dunks, getting out in transition, post play reminiscent of Hakeem Olajuwon in his Rockets prime, blocks violent enough to register a Richter scale reading—it’s hard to believe this is the handiwork of a career benchwarmer who spent much of last year in the G League before landing on his feet as a (vigorously checks notes scribbled on yellow legal pad) Utah Jazz Summer League participant. It goes without saying the level of basketball played in the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) isn’t anywhere close to what we’re used to in America, though it's still staggering to see Fall so thoroughly dominate his competition, suddenly becoming Wilt Chamberlain upon his arrival on a new continent.
Fall’s counting stats may not seem overly impressive (he’s averaged 14.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 0.8 steals in nine appearances this season), though keep in mind, the hyper-efficient seven-footer is only playing about 24 minutes per game, which is probably about all his aching joints can handle at that size. Hopefully we’ll see Fall and his size-22 Nikes back on an NBA roster soon enough, but until that day comes, the 26-year-old from Senegal will continue to build his resume elsewhere, making the most of his opportunity in China.
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