Final answer:
The tallest NBA player ever is Gheorghe Mureșan, who was 7 feet 7 inches tall. A height with a z-score of 3.5 in the NBA is extremely rare and would equate to over 7.55 feet. The tallest person documented was Robert Wadlow, at nearly nine feet tall due to an endocrine system issue.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tallest player ever to play in the NBA is Gheorghe Mureșan, who stood at 7 feet 7 inches tall. When analyzing a player's height using standard deviation and z-scores, as was done for heights in the 2005-2006 season, a z-score of 3.5 would be highly unusual, reflecting a height significantly above average.
This would translate to a height of roughly 90.67 inches or over 7.55 feet, which is exceptionally tall but still less than Mureșan's height. In contrast, the tallest person ever recorded, Robert Pershing Wadlow, was nearly nine feet tall due to an endocrine system condition.