It’s called the PBA — Philippine Basketball Association

(/j i know six and seven footers exist there. i just wanted to make a joke)

Wouldn’t you just end up with a league full of guys who were elite 5’11 players?

The tricky part is forcing all the 5’ 11” guys to stop claiming they are 6 feet on Tinder

There was such a league, in the late 80s-early 90s. If you’re old enough to remember Phar-Mor, the reason it no longer exists is because the CEO embezzled money to fund the league.

It would be a

Short season

Yeeeeeaaaaahhh

then you’d see how insane talented Filipinos are.

I don’t know if I’m missing something, but honestly I think this is a great idea. You’d have a lot of 5’11” guys, but that’s fine. You’d still end up with way more 5’10” and below than the NBA, because they’re only contending with a 3, 4, 5” difference. There’s probably a lot of interesting skill at the lower end going to waste that we don’t get to see.

Chris Paul would be the GOAT of that league.

I think this is a good idea and would open up the sport across the world. Think how popular basketball is in China but how few players they send to the NBA. Not only do I think it would be great for youths who don’t have to quit if they can’t make 6ft, but would make money as a world sport.

There was a league that ran from 88-92 that had a height limit of 6’5”, later 6’7”. It was really fun ball, fast-paced, lots of high-fliers going off without bigs clogging the paint.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Basketball_League

They should do it. It be wildly entertaining

This used to exist

I believe the rim was 9 ft too

Nah, it would be like natural bodybuilding, no one would care about it.

It would be the opposite of the 5’10”-5’11” guys claiming 6’0”+, there would be 6’1”-6’2” dudes claiming 5’11” so they could dominate your little league

Isaiah Thomas would dominate

Celtics era Isiah Thomas would have actually gotten the brinks truck backed up for him in this league

And the hoops are 8 feet. Let the short kings cook.

What does this hypothetical league do if a 5’ 11” guy grows an inch after entering? 

i think you go by height for each position. up to 5’6 Guards, 5’9 wings, and one 6 footer.

It’s called the WBA.

It would be a short season

WNBA

How about under 4 feet?

I’m too lazy to look this up right now, so someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

I think in the early days there was a push to ban people over a certain height, which didn’t happen. But it ultimately led to the creation of the 3point shot to even it out.

The World Basketball League was for players 6’5 & under. My home city had a team. It was constant fast breaks & pushing the ball up court. Dunks were uncommon & so they were something special.

I play volleyball and I’ve seen tournaments where they have a height limit. You gotta be under 6ft tall to play. They call it a shorties tournament.

I am old enough to remember the WBL a 6’ 4” and under league (shoutout to all you Chicago Express and World champion Dayton Wings fans).

A friend had season tickets. The games were exciting and fast-paced. Also, you had a few guys who were listed at 6’ 5 in other leagues’s media guides, so I don’t think the height restriction was strictly enforced.

There was from 1988 to 1992. - The World Basketball League. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Basketball_League

Restriction was 6’5”. Michael Jordan’s brother, Larry, played in the league.

I want this for volleyball too! Get these physical freaks outta here!

Nice topic OP. Idk if it’s original but these are great discussions.

the lengths people will go just to not watch WNBA

You mean the WNBA?

Could also be interesting if the NBA did something like most leagues overseas do. Where they only allow each team two or three foreign players and the rest must be local players. But instead make that a restriction on height.

It’s probably in the Philippines

If the league was successfull enough, we would see players taking drugs to not reach 6 feet.

Isn’t that what the leagues are in Japan and the Philippines?

I’ve thought about this before. But I’d want the rim at 8 ft. That league would be amazingly entertaining to watch!

Chris Paul for the mvp

Lol.. i dont think that’s unusual in the philippines

Lol.. i dont think that’s unusual in the philippines

If you’re wanting to watch skillful guys who are average height, go to your local high school game. Very fast-moving, lots of layups and jump shots.

First thought I had when reading this was a league of dead players

It’d be full of Filipino & Chinese tbh :p

Manlet league would pwn, but I don’t think people will watch since part of the appeal of the game is athleticism, not just skill in putting ball in basket. People want to see the giants run around flying and dunking.

The dunks we do see would be pretty fucking awesome

Kyle Lowry would play point center.

I’d watch the highlights on YT for sure, at least once or twice

I think there would be a lot of really mad talented 6’1” dudes out there

A 6’5” and under league failed. World Basketball league -88-92..

I would dominate

Anyone else read that as “6 feet under” lol. Was thinking damn, you want a zombie league?

It might be more fun to watch honestly

that’s pretty much what and 1 was

I still would not make the cut.

Didn’t Kevin Durant use to claim he was shorter than he actually was? What’s stopping some 6’2 dudes who aren’t good enough for the NBA from slouching a little to get in?

I love this idea

This was attempted with the World Basketball League, which lasted from 1988 to 1992. The maximum height started at 6’5” though, and was later increased to 6’7”.

i think it should be based on standing reach, kd might not be 7 feet toe to crown, but his standing reach is that of a seven footer. some of these guys’ wingspan is more impressive than their height

Markus Howard come home!!!!

As a 6’1” guy I would not like this.

There was one in the US and it failed. Anyone remember its name?

But why? Nobody is going to watch yet another league full of mediocre talent.

Kind of like lightweight vs heavyweight in boxing right ?

Fighting sports make sense because there’s a basic safety issue at play. A 125 pounder taking a clean shot from a 250 pounder might legitimately kill him.

They have a collegiate league called sprint football which is basically football with a max weight. Your high school QBs go from QB to Offensive Tackle. Its still very watchable. It could be a cool thing to adapt a league with a height limit

not a bad idea.

Such a league would struggle to be professional, because it won’t generate enough revenue to pay enough salaries for its players to survive on it.

While we’re at it, add weight classes to distance races

I’ve always advocated for this. Would make for a very interesting game, seeing how it affects the overall approach to offense when there’s no such thing as a defensive mismatch and you take away the rim protectors.

The 3-pt line would still be attractive due to the extra point, but I imagine that without rim protectors people would shoot a much higher percentage at the rim and so offenses would be more oriented towards taking the ball inside.

Also, there’s a shit-ton of people who are shut out of basketball at the collegiate (and then pro) level simply due to their height. There are a *lot* more people sub-6’ than above 6’, and so you have to imagine that there are a whole lot of people with strong basketball talent who simply didn’t hit the height lottery who would be great to be able to watch in this context.

Not a bad idea really…..it’s probably almost impossible to get into the league below 6’ these days. No matter how much practice. And maybe even no matter how athletic…

Bare minimum seems like 6’3-4” these days unless ur just crazy athletic. Like Eric Bledsoe status. But even then guys like him only survive in the league when theyd dominate if they were a little taller.

I would dominate

In college, there was an intramural league where you had to be under 6 feet tall. I think it was called “Napoleon Hoops.”

a league for people six feet under? bro the dead cant play basketball…

I think it would be terrible basketball. Lots of missed shots lots of running. It’s gonna look like a soccer game.

IT would be the King

I’d be satisfied with fewer and shorter timeouts- possibly only after a whistle like some leagues; less time to shoot FT’s; 3 16-20 minute periods with 5 minute rest intervals; no substitution after you commit a foul- (in the NHL if you ice the puck, the opposing team can sub but you can’t…so stalling is discouraged). And I would go to a 20-second shot clock.

Jokic can’t be the MVP under those conditions. If you make 3’s worth 2.5 points Westbrook is back in the game.

24 seconds was an arbitrary period based on early 1950’s basketball. The NBA never experimented with any other clock. A shorter clock rewards better defense and teams who run more.

Isn’t that the WNBA?

Bro just invented women

The WNBA exists

Would be more watchable than the WNBA