Manute Bol may have had an NBA career remembered more out of curiosity or as a trivia answer, but the man lived an honorable life that, sadly, is now getting recognition mostly because he died on June 19.
Bol's inclusion in NBA Jam for the Wii probably isn't intentional to his untimely passing. The folks at EA Canada have gone far and wide collecting great names from the past for inclusion in the upcoming title, and if they're bringing back Spud Webb, who was on the original arcade roster and one of the game's shortest players (at 5-7, he won the 1986 NBA Dunk Contest), then why not one of the tallest?
Bol's likely to be an unstoppable shot-blocking force - at 7-foot-7 (and just 225 pounds), he is the only player with more blocked shots than points - though Bol did have an uncommon reputation for shooting threes.
Bol's name will live on through his activism on behalf of his native Sudan; it is good, also, that a man who brought so many smiles to NBA fans will continue to do so in this game.
[via 1Up]