# Why no "height classes" in basketball the same way we have weight classes is fighting sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 30, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793 "2018-07-30T05:21:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/21 "2018-07-31T02:02:22Z")
As Hi Neighbor pointed out, people don’t watch basketball just to see tall centers duke it out. They also want to see small speedy guys like Stephen Curry and JJ Barea, etc. If you had height classes for basketball you’d just see five tall slow guys against five tall slow guys, and five speedy small guys against five speedy small guys. Both would be boring in their own way. ---
**Author:** ![ScarletNinny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ScarletNinny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletNinny)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/22 "2018-07-31T05:22:58Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#): > > I find it interesting OP picked basketball when I think it’s actually got some of the most variety among professionals in terms of body size (along with football). It’s a sport where you can have 7’1" 340 lbs Shaq on the same court with 5’9" 185 lbs Isaiah Thomas. Of course this wasn’t literally true, but Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues were teammates on the 1987-88 Washington Bullets. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/23 "2018-07-31T05:37:10Z")
And just how will one qualify for a center or a point guard? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/24 "2018-07-31T05:50:24Z")
So I guess a flip side of the question is, how do fighting sports manage to generate interest in anything by the heavyweight classification? If in all other sports, interest in anything but the unrestricted class is basically nil, why is it that people care about flyweight or cruiserweight boxing/wrestling etc? ---
**Author:** ![ScarletNinny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ScarletNinny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScarletNinny)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/25 "2018-07-31T06:02:21Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > So I guess a flip side of the question is, how do fighting sports manage to generate interest in anything by the heavyweight classification? If in all other sports, interest in anything but the unrestricted class is basically nil, why is it that people care about flyweight or cruiserweight boxing/wrestling etc? Generally speaking they don’t. In the past it was based on charisma, like Sugar Ray Leonard. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/26 "2018-07-31T15:44:30Z")
Unless you had tightly regulated height categories such as “no shorter than 5’10” but no taller than 6’2" " that kept everyone in the proper category, you’d end up with the “tall” league taking the place of the NBA, and have better short players migrating upward in the height leagues . I mean, why would DJ Augustin stay in a lower height league, if he could play with the big boys, so to speak? Once that happens, you’d have one tall-player/height unrestricted league with the best players, and a series of scrub leagues of shorter players. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793/27 "2018-07-31T15:57:38Z")
> [@ScarletNinny](#): > > Generally speaking they don’t. In the past it was based on charisma, like Sugar Ray Leonard. Heavyweight is certainly the most popular weight class most of the time but not lately. When you watch two good fighters it doesn’t matter that much how big they are. Lighter weight divisions have always maintained popularity, that’s why they were created in the first place. With the giants in heavyweight boxing right now the top division is waning in popularity since guys that big often don’t deliver much action except for perhaps a big knockout at the end. This is beginning to change as more of these huge men develop talent instead of just being big. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-height-classes-in-basketball-the-same-way-we-have-weight-classes-is-fighting-sports/818793.md?page=1)